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Finding Your Path: Careers In and Adjacent to Computing

A guide documenting my own research as a computing student figuring out what is actually out there, including things I already knew about and things I discovered for the first time.

Developed by Hasiba Hasin Royesh, Bucknell University, Summer 2026 Research Project, supervised by Professor Darakhshan Mir

Where this guide comes from

I want to be upfront about something before getting into career categories. When I started thinking seriously about what I wanted to do after graduation, I did not have a clear answer. For a while, I did not even know what questions to ask.

I started thinking about this at the beginning of my sophomore year, when I was trying to land an internship for the following summer. That did not work out. Junior year I tried again, applied to a significant number of companies, and was disappointed again. Somewhere in that process I had to stop and ask myself something I had been avoiding: was I applying to these places because I actually wanted to work there, or because they looked impressive and I was matching my path to what people around me seemed to be doing?

That question led me to sit down with my professors and my siblings, who are already out of college and working, and actually try to figure out what I wanted. Not what was trending. Not what would look best on a resume. What would feel meaningful to do every day.

A few things became clear. One, I do not want a traditional software engineering role. Two, the part of computing I find most compelling is where technology connects to people: public interest, ethics, how the products we build actually affect the humans using them. Three, the computing job market is no longer the reliably accessible pipeline it might have seemed like a decade ago.

This guide documents what I found when I started looking seriously at what is actually out there. Some of these career paths I already knew about. Others I discovered during this research and genuinely had no idea existed. I have marked each one so you can see what was new to me and what was not.

A note on the job market right now

The computing job market in 2025 and 2026 is genuinely harder than it was a few years ago. That is not a reason to panic, but it is a reason to be thoughtful.

Entry-level software engineering roles at Big Tech are significantly harder to get than they were three or four years ago. Artificial intelligence is changing what companies need from junior engineers. New graduate hiring at major tech companies dropped more than 50% between 2019 and 2025, according to SignalFire's 2025 State of Tech Talent report. New graduates now make up just 7% of hires at large technology companies. The most competitive candidates are specific about what they want and can articulate clearly why they are a good fit for a particular role or organization.

At the same time, demand for people who can work at the intersection of technology and other fields, policy, design, research, health, education, government, is real and growing. The challenge is that these paths are less visible. They do not have a clear pipeline the way Big Tech recruiting does. You have to find them more actively.

That is part of why I am writing this guide. The information exists, but it is scattered. Pulling it together is part of what I have been doing this summer, and I want to make that work useful for other students too.

How I found the information in this guide

I want to be transparent about my research process, both because it is part of what makes this guide different from a generic list, and because knowing how to search effectively is itself a skill worth documenting.

I started with broad Google searches and quickly found they returned a lot of surface-level or outdated content. The more useful approach was going to specific, reliable sources:

Everything cited in this guide has a reference at the end. If you want to go deeper on any category, start there.

Part 1: Roles I already knew about

These are the career paths I was aware of before starting this research. I am including them because they are still important and worth understanding well, even if they are not new information.

Software Engineering

Designing, building, and maintaining software applications and systems. This is still one of the most in-demand computing paths, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics projecting a median salary of $133,080 and 15% growth through 2034. The entry-level pipeline has tightened significantly at large companies, but opportunities exist across industries including healthcare, finance, education, and government. Competitive candidates are specific about what kind of software work they want to do and can demonstrate it through projects or internships.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Handshake, Indeed, company career pages, Levels.fyi (for compensation data at tech companies)

Data Science and Analytics

Extracting insight from data using statistics, machine learning, and visualization. Strong demand across industries well beyond tech, healthcare, finance, education, and nonprofits all need people who can work seriously with data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 34% growth through 2033 with a median salary of around $122,000. Roles range from highly technical to more communication and strategy-focused depending on the organization.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, Handshake, Kaggle Jobs, company data science team pages

Cybersecurity

Protecting systems, networks, and data from attacks and breaches. The International Information System Security Certification Consortium estimated a global shortage of roughly 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals in 2024, making this one of the most stable and in-demand paths in computing. It also increasingly intersects with law, policy, and compliance, opening doors to more interdisciplinary roles beyond pure technical work.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, CyberSecJobs.com, USAJobs.gov (for government security roles)

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Engineering

Building and deploying systems that learn from data, including natural language processing, computer vision, recommendation systems, and large language model applications. One of the areas seeing the strongest demand right now. Often benefits from or requires a graduate degree depending on the level of the role. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 35 to 40% growth through 2027.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Handshake, Indeed, artificial intelligence-specific job boards like AIJobs.net

User Experience and Product Design

Designing digital products and experiences that are useful, accessible, and intuitive. Involves user research, prototyping, and close attention to how people interact with technology. A computing background helps because you understand what is technically feasible. Graduate programs in Human-Computer Interaction are a common path for people who want to go deeper into research in this area.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Dribbble, Behance Jobs, User Experience Professionals Association Job Board (uxpa.org/jobs)

Product Management

Deciding what to build and why. Product managers coordinate across design, engineering, and business to guide a product from concept to launch. Entry-level paths include Associate Product Manager programs at companies like Google, Microsoft, and Airbnb. A computing background helps you understand technical feasibility and communicate with engineering teams.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, Handshake, Product School job board

Part 2: Roles I discovered during this research

These are the career categories I genuinely did not know much about before starting this process. Some of them I had vaguely heard of but did not understand. Others I had no idea existed as structured career paths for someone with a computing background.

Category: Human-Computer Interaction research

Human-Computer Interaction Researcher. Studying how people interact with technology and using that research to improve systems and products. More research-oriented than user experience design and typically associated with academic or industry research lab settings at companies like Google, Microsoft, Adobe, or Apple. This is the area I find most personally compelling because it sits at the intersection of computing and questions about people, equity, and real-world impact. Usually requires or leads to graduate school.

Where to find these roles: Academic job boards (Chronicle of Higher Education, Association for Computing Machinery jobs), research lab career pages, sigchi.org

Resources for this path:

Category: Public interest technology

Public Interest Technologist. Using computing skills to advance equity, democracy, civil rights, environmental justice, and public health. Bruce Schneier defines it three ways: working on tech policy, working on a tech project with a public benefit, or working as a technologist for an organization with a public-interest focus. This field is newer and more fragmented than traditional tech careers, there is not one obvious pipeline into it, but it is real, it is growing, and there are structured pathways through fellowships and organizations.

Where to find these roles: alltechishuman.org/responsible-tech-job-board, benzevgreen.com/jobs, techjobsforgood.com, Idealist.org

Civic Technologist. Building tools that improve how the government functions and how people engage with it. Organizations like Code for America have historically led this work. The landscape shifted in 2025 with the reorganization of several federal programs, but new fellowships and organizations have continued to emerge. The United States Digital Corps is one of the clearest entry points: a two-year paid fellowship for early-career technologists that has grown to 70+ fellows annually with a 95% retention rate.

Where to find these roles: usdigitalcorps.gov, govloop.com, civic tech job boards through local brigade networks

Tech Policy Analyst or Researcher. Working on the legal and regulatory questions raised by technology: artificial intelligence governance, data privacy, platform accountability, digital rights. Roles exist in government agencies, think tanks, advocacy organizations, and law firms. Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Center for Democracy and Technology, AI Now Institute, and Data and Society work in this space. Requires both technical fluency and policy knowledge.

Where to find these roles: Idealist.org, organization career pages directly, emergingtechpolicy.org

Key fellowships and entry points into public interest technology:

Category: Business, finance, and consulting

This was one of the biggest surprises during my research. A computing degree opens doors into finance, consulting, and business in ways I had not seriously considered before.

Quantitative Analyst. Using mathematical models and programming to analyze financial markets and inform investment decisions. Banks, hedge funds, and financial technology companies hire computing graduates specifically for quantitative roles. Python, statistical modeling, and data analysis are the core skill set. This is a technically demanding path that rewards strong computing fundamentals even with no background in finance. Median salaries are well above the average for computing roles.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, eFinancialCareers.com, Wall Street Oasis job board, company investment bank career pages

Financial Technology Engineer or Product Manager. Building technology specifically for financial services: payments, banking infrastructure, lending platforms, and investment tools. This sits between finance and software engineering and is one of the faster-growing areas in the industry. Companies like Stripe, Plaid, Robinhood, and major banks all hire computing graduates for these roles.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, Handshake, Built In (builtin.com) for financial technology companies specifically

Business or Financial Analyst. Analyzing data to inform business decisions, forecast performance, and identify opportunities. This exists across industries, not just financial services. Computing graduates bring a significant advantage in working with large datasets and building analytical tools. Entry-level roles exist at consulting firms, banks, technology companies, and organizations in almost every sector.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, Handshake, company career pages, consulting firm recruiting portals

Technology Consultant. Helping organizations understand, select, and implement technology. Consulting firms like McKinsey, Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group, and Accenture all have significant technology practices that actively recruit computing graduates. The work is more communication and strategy-focused than engineering, but technical credibility and the ability to explain complex systems clearly matters a lot.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Handshake (consulting firms recruit heavily here), firm career pages directly

Category: Social science and interdisciplinary roles

This category was completely new to me and turned out to be one of the most interesting parts of this research. Computing increasingly intersects with fields that are not traditionally technical, and the roles that come from that intersection are genuinely different from anything I had thought about before.

Computational Social Scientist. Using computational methods, data analysis, machine learning, natural language processing, to study social phenomena. This sits at the boundary between computing and social science and is an emerging research area at universities and think tanks. It includes analyzing social media behavior, modeling social systems, and applying quantitative methods to questions in sociology, political science, and public health. Usually requires graduate education but research assistant roles exist at the undergraduate level.

Where to find these roles: Academic job boards, research institute career pages, Social Science Research Council (ssrc.org)

Data Journalist or Tech Journalist. Using technical skills to report on how technology affects society. Organizations like The Markup, ProPublica, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Technology Review specifically hire people with technical backgrounds. The work involves analyzing data, investigating algorithmic systems, and communicating findings to a general audience. This path requires both technical ability and strong writing, an unusual combination that is genuinely in demand.

Where to find these roles: Organization career pages directly, Journalism Jobs (journalismjobs.com), LinkedIn

Health Technology Specialist or Health Informatics. Working at the intersection of computing and healthcare. This includes building electronic health record systems, analyzing health data for public health research, developing patient-facing technology, and managing technology infrastructure in clinical settings. A computing background combined with interest in health opens doors in hospitals, public health agencies, research institutions, and health technology companies.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society JobMine (himss.org) for health information technology specifically, USAJobs for public health roles

Education Technology Researcher or Developer. Building and researching technology for learning environments. This ranges from software engineering roles at education technology companies to research on how students learn with and through technology. If you care about education equity and access, this is an area where computing skills connect directly to those questions. Companies like Duolingo, Khan Academy, and Coursera hire computing graduates, as do university research centers studying learning.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, EdSurge Job Board (edsurge.com/jobs), university research center pages

Legal Technology Analyst or Developer. Supporting legal work through technology. This includes building tools for legal research, contract analysis, and document review, as well as working on compliance and technology law. An area that has grown significantly with the rise of artificial intelligence and questions about how it intersects with legal and regulatory systems. Law firms, legal tech startups, and in-house legal teams at large companies all hire people with technical backgrounds.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, International Legal Technology Association job board

Science Communication and Technical Writing. Translating complex technical ideas for different audiences, from product documentation to policy writing to journalism about technology. In real demand and consistently overlooked as a career path for computing students. The ability to explain technical systems clearly is rare and valuable across sectors including government, nonprofits, media, and industry.

Where to find these roles: LinkedIn, Indeed, Society for Technical Communication job board (stc.org)

How to search for opportunities and match them to your interests

Finding the right opportunity is its own skill, and it is one that most career guides do not teach well. Here is what I found actually works, based on my own search process this year.

Step 1: Start with what you care about, not what sounds impressive

Before opening a job board, spend some time with yourself. The question I found most useful was not "what jobs are available" but "what kind of problem do I want to work on every day?" That answer, even if it is vague, will help you filter a lot of noise.

Some questions worth sitting with:

Your answers will not perfectly map to a job title. But they will point you toward the right categories to explore.

Step 2: Read real job postings, not just job descriptions

Career overview articles (including this one) describe what jobs are in general terms. A real posting tells you what the work actually involves on a daily basis, what skills the organization is asking for, what the culture seems like, and sometimes what the salary range is. Reading 10 to 15 postings in a category you are curious about will teach you more than any overview article.

Look for patterns across postings in the same category:

Step 3: Use the right platforms for what you are looking for

Different job boards are better for different types of opportunities. Using the wrong one wastes time.

For general job searching

For public interest and mission-driven roles

For research and Human-Computer Interaction paths

For finance and business roles

For health and social science adjacent roles

Step 4: Talk to people, not just job boards

Every professor I talked to pointed me toward something I would not have found on my own. Every person I talked to who was already working told me things about their actual day-to-day that no job description captured. This is not a cliche, it is genuinely the most efficient way to get good information about a path you are considering.

Practical ways to do this:

Step 5: Reflect on what you find and adjust

The first version of your search will probably not be the right one. That is normal. What you find during the search changes what you are looking for. Give yourself permission to adjust as you go.

When I started this process I thought I wanted something adjacent to software engineering. After doing this research I understand now that what I actually want is something at the intersection of technology and how it affects people, which points toward Human-Computer Interaction research, public interest technology, and policy-adjacent roles more than anything on the traditional software engineering path. That clarity came from the process of looking, not from figuring it out in advance.

The goal is not to find the perfect career path before you start. The goal is to get specific enough about what you care about that the search becomes productive rather than overwhelming.

Resources to go deeper

For exploring public interest technology and civic tech

For finding opportunities

For Human-Computer Interaction and research paths

For the broader computing careers landscape

References

All sources used in this guide, in order of citation:

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