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Computers are all the rage these days, aren’t they? You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t at least heard of Angry Birds, updated their Facebook status on a smart phone, or finished homework on a laptop computer down at the local coffee shop. So what better way to secure a solid career for yourself than to major in a field that won’t be going away any time soon?

According to Weber State University’s Computer Science website, “In 2010, the Wall Street Journal had computer-related careers occupying two of the top three positions in best jobs in America in terms of current demand, stress level and salary. Salaries are consistently in the top-10 ranges with ComputerWorld reporting 2010 base salaries at, for example, over $71,000 for programmer/analyst and over $88,000 for Software Engineer. Computer software engineers are among the occupations projected to grow the fastest and add the most new jobs over the 2008–18 decade, resulting in excellent job prospects. according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”

A small disclaimer for some: there is a certain amount of math involved. But it looks like there’s also some really cool classes. Check these out: Introduction to Interactive Entertainment, Mobile Development for the iPhone, Computer Graphics, and Game Development. Sounds pretty fun, right?

5 Clues You Might Be A Computer Science Major:

1. You’d rather deal with a computer bug than a real bug.
2. You’ve embraced your nerdiness, but insist it’s the “cool” kind of nerd.
3. You already know that this sentence is a <li> within an <ol>.
4. You’re more comfortable writing code than you are writing sentences.
5. 01010011 01101001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01101000 01110101 01101101 01100001 01101110 00101100 00100000 01100010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01110101 01110100 01100101 01110010 01110011 00101110 00100000 01000010 01101100 01100101 01100101 01110000 00101101 01100010 01101100 01101111 01101111 01110000 00101101 01100010 01101100 01100101 01100101 01110000 00101110

Degrees / Programs Available:

• Bachelor of Science (BS)—choose from one of three emphases:

1. Software Engineering Emphasis
2. Network Security and Administration Emphasis
3. Customized Emphasis

• Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Computer Science

• Departmental Honors in Computer Science

• Minor, Teaching Minor, or Bachelor of Integrated Studies (BIS) in Computer Science

• Game Development Certificate

Career Opportunities:

From weber.edu/cs: “The computer industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, and currently the job outlook for our graduates is very high. In the spring of 2006, Money Magazine rated occupations across the nation based on job demand, salary and stress level and ‘Software Engineers’ rated as #1. A wonderful resource for learning the current job situation and salary information for any field is http://www.bls.gov/oco/.”

Advising / Contact:

If you are considering a degree in Computer Science, contact Richard Fry, the department advisor. You can self-schedule an appointment at http://WSUComputerScience.clickbook.net, or call 801-626-7929 to make an appointment.

For more information about the Computer Science department, visit weber.edu/cs.

(Don’t know binary code? Convert it here.)

You always wonder what they look like.

We’re starting to get some fans turn out. So far we’ve had Travis bring pie and Bill’s colonoscopy adventure…. only 12 hours to go people.

The incoming (Andrew Gardner) and outgoing (Kyle Braithwaite)  student-body presidents stopped by for a chat to welcome Kerry, Bill and Gina to campus. They both seemed a little groggy and admitted that they don’t listen to the show very often. We need more FOP support on campus people!

Promotions Director Anthony is setting up for the broadcast to start at 6 am. I can’t believe the dedication of the X96 staff to show up this early (and be happy about it.) We’ll be live blogging all day, stop by and I’ll hook you up with some swag.

Jennifer Carver is a single mom living in Ogden Utah. She is currently a student at Weber State University. She is majoring in social work and minoring in criminal justice. Jennifer spent five years in the military before she moved to Utah at which point she enrolled at Weber State.

“Super Woman is definitely my favorite super hero, but I like to think she doesn’t have anything on me.”  

Watch Jennifer’s video below to find out how she manages being a single mother, having a full-time job, being in the military and being a wildcat!

So what’s the whole point? You may be asking yourself, “Why all the superhero imagery?” Well, we here at Weber State University’s Continuing Education have decided that our students are real superheroes for pursuing their education amidst less than ideal circumstances. If you didn’t know already, Continuing Education provides assistance to and helps recruit nontraditional students, which is any student who is either at least 25 years old, married, taking evening, weekend or online classes, or is completing courses off-campus at any other WSU location. Many of the nontraditional students that we have highlighted in our previous blog posts (and whose images you may see riding around town on the side of a bus) are people who have returned to school after an extended hiatus, either because it was too difficult at the time or they had other commitments. Some have full-time jobs and some have children to take care of, but every one of them manages to create a unique schedule that works for themselves and their family.

So what does it really take to Be Your Own Superhero? Commitment, responsibility, an eagerness to learn, and a handful of other positive adjectives. Yes, it’s going to be difficult—it should be difficult—but the point is that you can do it. No matter what your excuse is, there’s already someone who had the same excuse and is about to graduate. So throw on your cape, tighten down your utility belt, and register for some classes already.

You can start by exploring some of your options at FinishatWeber.com

Plus, we’re on Facebook now! Like us for updates and free stuff! Facebook.com/FinishatWeber

“Just don’t quit!”

Trenna Prete is a nontraditional student at Weber State University studying social work. She plans on earning a masters degree and working with children after she graduates. She takes evening and online classes to balance her class schedule with family, work and a busy lifestyle.

“I want to be the best I can be in my field.”

Sally Badoud is the Assistant Director of Marketing and Media Services. She works in the Division of Professional and Continuing Studies at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. After growing up in a rural part of Alabama, she knew education was going to be her ticket to a better life.

Why did you decide to earn a degree?

I grew up working in the fields during the summers, and knew manual labor was not the career path I wanted to take.

What did you earn your degree in and why?

I have a BA in studio art, with a discipline in graphic design. I really wanted to paint full time, but I needed to go in a field that would actually pay a salary!

What opportunities have you had because of your education?

I was able to land a job at a marketing firm the day after I graduated. I moved up within the company, eventually becoming the Creative Director, and was able to branch off in a different direction to become a Marketing Director.

Sally sent us this picture from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL (home of Space Camp!).