Computer Fields

Duaane B. Carrington Jr. Mr. Cattell
Rough Draft 11/7/01

Introduction

For my term paper the field I chose was computers. I chose this field because I love computers and it s a field on the rise. When doing my research about computers, I tried to stay focused on a few different types of fields. I did this because I thought that doing every different type of field would not help me chose the right field for me. Computers is such a big field that it was almost no problem picking a couple of computer fields to talk about in my term paper.

Preparation

When doing some research I found out some ways to prepare yourself for the field of computers. First you should have good study habits and take a lot of notes during class. It would help you if you had a laptop so you can do some of your work in your dormitory instead of using the computer lab on the school campus (Cobb, interview). If you know nothing about the field that you are doing, then you should narrow down your classes, and take a side class that will help you prepare for your field. Since there are so many mathematic problems dealing with computers you should be well rounded with math in high school (Cobb, interview). If you are not good with math, then you should try to do anything possible to try and improve your math capabilities.

Opportunities

There are many opportunities with the field of computers. A lot of jobs are offered to college students during their time in college. Some jobs offer the student so much money that they could live off of that if they were to leave college at that moment in time ( ex.35,000). Some job offers in different fields of computers are vast, but some are very hard make it in. You should pick a field that nobody really knows about make sure it has good pay.

General

I found out that having someone who majored or knows something in the field of computers that you are in, you will need them if you have to ask them a question about something in your field that you can't answer. There is a high demand for computer experts in certain fields, because a big or small corporation might need someone in that area to help them become successful (Cobb, interview). There is a lot of programming in computers. There are some field of computers that make the games that you play and the programs that you run on your computer Cobb, interview)..

The use of computers expanded between the 50's an 70's. Computer architecture is the design an analysis of a new computer system. Graphic design is the art of integrating text, typography, and illustrations in the production of books and magazines. The salaries in the field of computers varies depending on what field of computer field you are in and who are you working for (World Book Encyclopedia). If you get Microsoft or Cisco certified you will make more companies want you and your salary will go up. Computers help people in their everyday life. Companies use computers to store data and records. You can't procrastinate in the field of computers, because their is always someone better than you, and more experienced with computers in your field. Getting your degree from an institute is just as good as getting one from a university. Computers can communicate with other computers through a series of connections and associated hardware called a network. The advantage of a network is that data can be exchanged rapidly, and software and hardware resources, such as hard-disk space or printers, can be shared (Encarta, Computers). One type of network, a local area network (LAN), consists of several PCs or workstations connected to a special computer called the server. The server stores and manages programs and data (Encarta, Computers). A server often contains all of a networked group's data and enables LAN workstations to be set up without storage capabilities to reduce cost.

Wide area networks (WANs) are networks that span large geographical areas. Computers can connect to these networks to use facilities in another city or country (Encarta, Computers). Computers will become more advanced and they will also become easier to use. Improved speech recognition will make the operation of a computer easier. Communications between computer users and networks will benefit from new technologies such as broadband communication systems that can carry significannot ly more data and carry it faster, to and from the vast interconnected databases that continue to grow in number and type.

Electronics

Electronics is a field of engineering an applied physics dealing with the design and application of devices, usually electronic circuits, the operation of which depends on the flow of electrons for the generation, transmission, reception, and of the storage of information. Vacuum tubes were introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. Vacuum tubes started the rapid growth of modern electronics. Vacuum tubes made the manipulation of signals to become possible, that could not have been done by the telegraph or telephone circuit. The making of a larger variety of tubes designed for specialized functions gave swift progress of radio communication technologies(Encarta, Electronics). The transistor was invented in 1948, and it almost replaced the vacuum tube. Medical electronics has progressed from axial tomography systems the discriminate more and more of the organs of the human body. Integrated circuits lowered manufacturing and system costs, and it provided high speed and increased reliability. The development of integrated circuits has revolutionized the fields of communication, information handling and computing(Encarta, Electronics). Many integrated circuits are chips of silicon 2 to 4 mm long, in which transistors are fabricated. They are trying to research faster switching components and improve integrated circuit technologies(Encarta, Electronics).

Electronic circuits consist of interconnections of electronic components. Components are put into two categories: passive and active. Electronic circuits provide different functions to process this info, including amplification of weak signals to a visible level. The info can consist of voice or music in a radio receiver. Digital watches and electronic systems are based on microprocessors. Electronics is very difficult field to adjust to because it deals with so many different things. At this moment they are trying to build faster processors(Encarta, Electronics).

Computer Science

Computer Science can be divided into four branches-Software development, artificial intelligence, human computer interface, and computer architecture. The goals of Computer Science range from finding ways to better educate people in the use of existing computers to research into technologies that may not be viable for decades. Computer Science is mainly mathematics and electrical engineering. Computer Science Deals with all areas that deal with computers (Encarta, Computer Science). Computer Science broadened to include simplifying the use of computers through programming languages and operating systems. Between early 1970's and 1980's, Computer Science rapidly expanded in an effort to develop new applications for personal computers and to drive the technological advances in the computing industry. Computer scientist are trying to design more complex, reliable, an powerful computers.

Computer Science and Computer programming difficult fields to get into(Encarta, Computer Science).

Computer Programming

Computer Programmers work by themselves or as a team. Computer programmers write and debug computer programs. In the 1970's, computer chip manufacturers began to mass produce microprocessors(Johnson, 152). Microprocessors are the electronic circuitry that serves as the main information processing center in a computer. Human Computer Interface provides the means for people to use computers. An example is a mouse. Computers have many different languages. Examples of high-level languages in use today include C, Ada, Pascal, LISP, Prolog, COBOL, HTML, and Java. New compilers are being developed, and many features available in one language are being made available in others. A computer can either be digital or analog. An example of analog is 0 & 1, 1.5, pi-P. An example of digital is binary numbers 0 & 1.
Conclusion
I think that this is great project for a Senior, because I was thinking on what major to pick in college, and due to this project it help me narrow down my choice on what field to take greatly. I didn't know that there were some many opportunities in the field of computers until I did some research about it for this term paper.
Originally, was going to choose medical technology as my major, but talking to others in that field and doing my own research I found out that it was not want I had wanted to do. There are so many different fields to choose from in the field of computers. So I decide during my term paper that I was going to try and stay focus and just get a little information on certain majors of computers that I was interested in. I did this, instead of trying to do a term paper on every field of computers, which would have been stupid.
I am thankful that I had the opportunity to due this term paper because at first I thought it wasn't going to help me at all but I guess I was wrong from the start.