Personal Career Goals

How Student Organizations, Classes, and Support Help Fulfill Personal and Career Goals:
Computer Science and Cybersecurity

Programming, software development, computer science, and computer security are important in my life both with regards to my personal goals and my career goals. Rutgers University offers paths through which to pursue these personal and career goals through classes, student organizations, and other resources.
Personal Enrichment Goals Computer technology has gone from being undiscovered to being used globally. We live in an exciting time technologically. Over relatively short spans of time, technology has improved our lives in many ways. Advances in computing and technology save lives, make day-to-day living easier, and have improved quality of life for billions of people. The impact that computing has on the world is fascinating to me. I have spent the last few years studying programming, software development, and computer programming and have felt great satisfaction in learning about what makes up this computing technology. Many opportunities to continue to learn about computer science
and programming are offered by Rutgers University. For example, one program that is of interest to me at Rutgers is the university’s computer science program. This program is interesting to me because it offers an opportunity to learn more about the foundations of programming and computer science. Rutgers’ program on computational biology (Computational Biology and Molecular Biophysics) sounds fascinating. While I am more knowledgeable about computer science than biology, it may be worth my time to spend some time studying biology and other relevant disciplines to check out this exciting program because seeing how disciplines can combine to create something better than the sum of its part is powerful. By studying these programs at Rutgers, I will become more knowledgeable about topics that are highly interesting to me on a personal level.
Career Goals In the future, there are so many things that I would be interested in doing that it is difficult to give definitive career goals. I am currently exploring two career possibilities that are intriguing to me, all of which are related to computer science, software development, and/or computer programming. The need for cybersecurity experts has increased over the recent years. Cybersecurity is needed to protect data, people and information across networks, computers, programs, and other technologies. As technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, it is important to take steps to ensure that the security risks associated with this technology are minimized. Because of this, working in cybersecurity appeals to
me. A Rutgers education would be highly useful in travelling from my current knowledge to becoming more knowledgeable and skilled with regards to cybersecurity. For example, Rutgers offers courses like Fundamentals of Cybersecurity and Secure Systems. The topics in this course, such as security frameworks and business sector security requirements, are highly related to both my personal and professional interests. In addition, the foundations of programming and computer technology are vital knowledge in understanding cybersecurity concepts because low-level concepts help to explain why certain things happen at higher levels. Rutgers offers a chance to become more educated on the foundations of programming and computer technology, such as what is offered at Rutgers’ classes on low-level programming.
A second potential career path is to start my own company or to become self-employed. Being self-employed would be rewarding for a few reasons. First, running my own company or organization would allow me the opportunity to set the goals and objectives for the company. This means that goals that better the world could be pursued. For example, one hypothetical company that could be created is a company that conducts penetration testing and security tests. These services are in high demand, especially by companies who must test to ensure that their systems are secure. Two main things are offered by Rutgers that would help me achieve this career goal. Second, Rutgers also offers courses on business, management, and other topics that might be useful in starting my own company. Finally, there are various dedicated student groups at Rutgers, such as the Undergraduate Association for Computer Science. By being involved full-time in an environment with these dedicated individuals, it will be possible to learn through peers and to build connections with other dedicated and intelligent people who might be interested in such an endeavor, Of course, these career paths are not mutually exclusive. With hard work and dedication studying at Rutgers, as well as pursuing personal projects, after graduating from Rutgers, it may even be possible to do both! While much hard work would be required, it may even be possible to start my own company working in the area of cybersecurity. The classes, student organizations, and support offered by Rutgers would be valuable in getting to this point in my life.