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Computer & math

Computer network support specialists

Typically requires Associate's degree

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
RiskyMedium uncertainty

Analyst take: Decent prospects — +1.8% projected growth, moderate AI exposure (64/100).

40
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. None = broadly exposed — many of its tasks are automatable and its skills are widely shared. (Exposure ≠ job loss; see the bears below.)

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Medium uncertainty means the score leans partly on forward-looking bets like AI exposure, so treat the exact number loosely.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +High pay — above 69% of careers ($73,340).
🐻 Bears say
  • High AI exposure — 64% of tasks are model-touchable (exposure ≠ job loss).
  • Slow growth — behind 57% of careers.
Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+1.8%
Median pay
$73,340
AI exposure
64/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 1,531 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$57,993
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$25,250
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
2.3×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Computer/Information Technology Services Administration and ManagementComputer ScienceComputer Programming/ProgrammerComputer Systems Networking and TelecommunicationsComputer Systems Analysis/Analyst
Selective schools offering these majors
California Institute of Technology
CA · 3% admit rate
$86,886/yr
$128,566 grad pay
Stanford University
CA · 4% admit rate
$87,833/yr
$124,080 grad pay
Harvard University
MA · 4% admit rate
$85,540/yr
$101,817 grad pay
Yale University
CT · 4% admit rate
$88,300/yr
$100,533 grad pay
Columbia University in the City of New York
NY · 4% admit rate
$89,472/yr
$102,491 grad pay
University of Chicago
IL · 4% admit rate
$90,360/yr
$91,885 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

technologydatamathprogramming