What can you do with a degree in Computer Science? Some computer science graduates have moved into industry (as programmers) or entered graduate programs (from applied sciences to medicine to law).
Still others have pursued entrepreneurial/business routes, found a home in the evolving world of digital media, or used their computational skills to move into finance, banking, or health care.
Put simply, computer science serves as an entryway into just about every scientific and business-related field, and increasingly acts as an accelerator for success in academia and industry.
In fact, our alumni have been going into so many different fields and areas, that we find it difficult to keep up with them and maintain this page…
Careers By Area
“I found that being around so many intelligent and motivated people inspired me to think very big about what I wanted to do in my own life.” Danielle Feinberg ‘96, Pixar
Some examples of areas you can explore are
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Artificial Intelligence: Develop computers that simulate human learning and reasoning ability.
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Computer Architecture: Design new components and systems for everything from high-performance, networked parallel machines to low-cost and lowpower iPods.
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Computer Design and Engineering: Design new computer circuits, microchips, and other electronic components.
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Theoretical Computer Science: Investigate the fundamental theories of how computers solve problems, and apply the results to other areas of computer science.
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Information Technology: Develop and manage information systems that support a business or organization.
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Operating Systems and Networks: Develop the basic software that computers use to supervise themselves or to communicate with other computers.
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Software Applications: Apply computing and technology to solving problems outside the computer field - in education or medicine, for example.
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Software Engineering: Develop methods for the production of software systems on time, within budget
Occupations post graduations
The following is a table of where our students go post graduation, though it’s hard to keep this table updates as career options for CS graduates keep expanding!
Primary Occupation Post Harvard | % |
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Computer Software, Hardware, Systems | 23 |
Banking, Finance, Communications | 11 |
Engineering & Science | 11 |
Education | 8 |
Full-time student | 7 |
Law | 6 |
Consulting | 6 |
Medicine, Healthcare, Public Health | 5 |
Arts, Government, Politics | 5 |
Other | 18 |
Alumni Stories
Salil Vadhan ‘95
Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, Harvard University
After completing his undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at Harvard, Salil Vadhan received a C.A.S. in Mathematics from Cambridge University (1996) and then went on to earn his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at MIT (1999).
His primary research interests are in computational complexity theory, cryptography, randomness in computation, and the interplay between these areas.
Gary Schermerhorn โ85
Co-Chief Operating Officer for the Technology Division of Goldman Sachs, with operational oversight of the division’s business units* Schermerhorn joined Goldman Sachs (in Equity Systems) in New York in 1990, and has headed technology for the NASDAQ Business Group as well as the Asset Management Group.
He became a managing director in 1998 and a partner in 2000. In addition to gaining a lifelong friendship with Harvard College Professor Harry Lewis, Schermerhorn also met his wife, Miriam Esteve ‘85 (Applied Math), at Harvard. She now serves as Head of Operations and Technology for the Global Wealth Management Division of Citigroup.
Danielle Feinberg ‘96
Lead lighting artist at Pixar Animation Studios
As lead lighting artist at Pixar Animation Studios, Feinberg led the team that rendered the aquatic universe in Finding Nemo, from the surge and swell of plant life to the bounce and pop of billions of bubbles. Her exposure to computer graphics began at age eight with designing spirographs in LOGO.
Today she has a list of future classics to her credit, including A Bug’s Life; Toy Story 2; Monsters, Inc.; and most recently, The Incredibles and WAL-E.
Even More
CS empowers you to solve problems in all sorts of domains. Here’s where alumni since 1984 can be found:
033 Asset Management ยท 2Wire Inc. ยท AAA Northern California, Nevada, Utah ยท Ab Initio Software Corporation ยท Acccenture ยท Accel Partners ยท Accenture ยท Access Global Partners ยท Action Verb LLC ยท Active Endpoints, Inc. ยท Acumen Fund ยท AdNectar ยท Adobe Systems ยท Aegon ยท Agile Communications, Inc ยท Agilex Technologies ยท AIG ยท Akamai Technologies ยท Alliance Growth Equities ยท Alverno College ยท Amazon.com ยท Amdocs ยท American Express ยท Andera, Inc. ยท Angelo, Gordon ยท Apple, Inc. ยท AQR Capital Management ยท Aravo Solutions ยท AristoDigital ยท Asprova Corporation ยท AT Kearney Inc ยท Athenahealth, Inc. ยท Authoria, Inc. ยท Autodesk Inc ยท Autonomy ยท Bain Capital ยท Bainwood Huang & Associates ยท Barclays Capital ยท BBN Technologies ยท Beaver Lakefront Resort, Inc. ยท Bee North, LLC ยท Bellevue Hospital Center ยท BessemerVenture Partners ยท Big Tent Design ยท Bingham McCutchen ยท Blackhorse Asset Management ยท Bloomberg, LP ยท Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina ยท BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd ยท Booz Allen Hamilton ยท Boston Consulting Group ยท Boston Harbor Ship Yard and Marina #F3 ยท Boston University ยท Briar Rose LLC ยท Bridgewater Associates ยท Bronto Software, Inc ยท Building Educated Leaders for Life ยท CA, Inc. ยท California State University - Hayward ยท Caltech ยท Cambridge Semantics ยท Cardozo School of Law ยท Carnegie Mellon University ยท Children’s Hospital ยท Ciplex.com ยท Citadel ยท Citigroup ยท ClearNow, Inc. ยท Clever Machine ยท Cliff Island Software ยท CNA Insurance ยท CoBu Technology ยท Code Red ยท Cognex Corp ยท Colorado Technical University - Kansas City ยท Columbia Presbyterian Hospital ยท Columbia University/Harlem Hospital Center ยท CommonMind LLC ยท Computational Models Inc ยท Computer Partners Inc ยท Congregation B’nai Torah ยท Contra Costa Community College District ยท Council on Spiritual Practices ยท Credit Suisse ยท Credit Suisse First Boston ยท CrossTech Group ยท CTB/McGraw-Hill ยท Cuil ยท D. E. Shaw & Co. ยท Daiwa Securities America ยท Dangermarc Studios ยท Daniel’s Jewelers ยทDanoo, Inc. ยท Dartmouth Medical School ยท Data Deletives ยท Davis Polk & Wardwell ยท DE Shaw & Co. ยท Deloitte & Touche ยท Department of Justice ยท DeSales University ยท Deutsche Bank ยท Diamond Management & Technology Consultants ยท Dimagi Inc. ยท Dixie State College ยท DOE/National Nuclear Security Administration ยท DoubleClick Inc. ยท DoubleDyno, Inc. ยท Dowling & Partners Securities, LLC ยท Draper Fisher Jurvetson ยท Eastport Analytics Inc ยท Eastwan Kodak Co ยท Effici LLC ยท Electroactive Inc ยท Ellington Management Group ยท EMC Corporation ยท EMC*2 Corp. ยท Endeca Technologies ยท Entelos, Inc. ยท etrials Worldwide, Inc ยท Evans Griffiths & Hart, Inc ยท Facebook ยท FAS Computer Services ยท Feith Systems & Software, Inc. ยท Feldman Gale, P.A. ยท Fidelity Investments ยท First Potomac Realty Trust ยท Fish & Richardson P. C. ยท Five Oaks Technologies, Inc. ยท Flixster, Inc. ยท Fluidnet ยท Flybridge Capital Partners ยท Fore Research and Management ยท Forest View Elementary School ยท Franklin W Olin College of Engineering ยท Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center ยท frog design ยท GaoHua Securities Limited ยท Gartner, Inc ยท Genentech, Inc. ยท Goldman Sachs ยท Google ยท Goose Networks, Inc. ยท Greater Greater Washington ยท GreenRoad Technologies Inc ยท Greenwich Capital ยท Guardian Technologies International, Inc. ยท Guidewire Software ยท Harvard Business School ยท Harvard College ยท Harvard University ยท Hasbro, Inc. ยท Highland Financial Holdings Group ยท HLCSoft ยท Holland & Davis LLC ยท Horizon Asset International Limited ยท Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin ยท Hyperion Solutions ยท Idiom Technologies ยท IL2000 ยท iLike ยท Imagen Incorporated ยท IMakeNews, Inc. ยท Immunity, Inc. ยท Index Ventures ยท Industry Aspect LLC ยท Information Builders Inc ยท Ingeeni Studios, Inc. ยท Integrative Bodywork ยท Intel Corporation ยท Intel Semiconductor Ltd ยท Interactive Factory ยท InterfaceThis ยท International Air Transport Association ยท International Business Machines ยท Intuit ยท ISI ยท iSkoot, Inc. ยท J P Morgan ยท J2 Interactive LLC ยท Jamison Group ยท Janus Capital Group ยท Jefferies International Limited ยท Jones Day ยท Joy Health & Wellness, LLC ยท Juniper Networks ยท KANTOR Management Consultants ยท Katzenbach Partners LLC ยท Keane, Inc ยท Khosla Ventures ยท Kiva Microfunds ยท Knesset of Israel ยท Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP ยท Kowintec, Inc ยท Krauss Dermatology ยท La Quinta High School ยท Legacy Investments, Inc ยท Legg Mason ยท Linden Lab ยท LinkedIn ยท Liquid Machines ยท Lithium ยท Lonely Planet ยท Lontra ยท LookSmart ยท LucidEra ยท Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects ยท Mage Sports, LLC ยท Marathon Asset Management ยท Marin Academy ยท Marin Software ยท MarketMind Technologies ยท Marsh Croft Property Group, LLC ยท Masergy Communications ยท Massachusetts General Hospital ยท Match.com ยท Maveron ยท McKinsey & Company ยท McKinsey & Company, Israel ยท McMaster-Carr Supply Company ยท MDCIV, Inc. ยท MDT Advisers ยท Medtronic ยท Mercatus LLC ยท Mercer Management Consulting ยท Metacapital Management ยท Metaphor Computer ยท Micro Office Solutions ยท Microsoft ยท Microsoft Research ยท Mindworks Software LLC ยท MIT ยท MIT Computer Science and AI Lab ยท MIT Lincoln Laboratory ยท MLB Advanced Media ยท MobiTech 3000 LLC ยท Morgan Stanley ยท Morgan Stanley Smith Barney ยท Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, P.C. ยท Mozilla Corporation ยท MySpace ยท Nassau University Medical Center ยท National Institute of Standards and Technology ยท National Institute on Aging ยท National Institutes of Health ยท Network Appliance ยท Network Appliance, Inc. ยท Neufeld Scheck & Brustin, LLP ยท New Enterprise Associates ยท New Mountain Capital LLC ยท New York Law School ยท nextstop.com ยท NFL ยท Nintendo Technology Development, Inc. ยท Northeast Orthopaedic Specialists, PC ยท Northeastern University ยท Numeric Investors LLC ยท Ocala Eye ยท Olympian Gaming, LLC ยท OPNET Technologies ยท Opnet Technology ยท Optaros Inc ยท Oracle / BEA Systems / Plumtree Software ยท Oracle Corporation ยท Orange Academy ยท Orion IT Services ยท Outbound Light Group ยท Outcome Sciences, Inc ยท Parfums Christian Dior ยท Passport Technologies ยท Patterson Harkavy LLP ยท Paulson & Co., Inc. ยท PDI/Dreamworks Animation ยท Peerspin, Inc. ยท Philadelphia VA Medical Center ยท Phillips & Nelson Media ยท PictureCode ยท Pittsburg Unified School District ยท Pivot Inc. ยท Pivotal Labs ยท Pixar Animation Studios ยท Pleco Software ยท Pluralsight ยท PopCap Games, Inc. ยท Positive Energy ยท Princeton University ยท Procter & Gamble ยท Project Einstein, Inc. ยท Protea Systems ยท Publishers Circulation Fulfillment, Inc. ยท Pyramid Research ยท Qualcomm Flarion Technologies ยท Quia ยท Quorum Federal Credit Union ยท QVT Financial LP ยท Random Walk Computing ยท Raytheon ยท RBC Capital MarketsCorporation ยท Reach Network ยท Rembrandt IP Management, LLC ยท Renaissance Technologies ยท Reservoir Labs ยท Resource Capital Group ยท Richland District Two ยท Robbins Russell Englert Orseck Untereiner & Sauber LLP ยท Round Two, Inc. ยท Salt River Project ยท Samasource.org ยท Sears Holdings, Inc. ยท Seaweed Systems Inc ยท ServiceMaster Chesapeake ยท Sevanta Systems ยท Sharpcast ยท Shaw Systems Associates Inc ยท Shelflink Inc ยท Shumway Capital ยท SiBEAM, Inc ยท Sienna Ventures ยท Skyward Mobile ยท Slide ยท Small Business Administration ยท SmartDraw.com ยท SmartTurn ยท SNiP ยท Solid Concepts Company ยท SRI International ยท St. Catharine’s College ยท St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center ยท State Street Associates ยท State Street Global Advisors ยท Stentor Inc ยท Strake Jesuit College Preparatory School ยท Suburban Radiologists, S.C. ยท Sun Microsystems ยท SunGard Higher Education ยท SunTrust ยท Symantec Corporation ยท Tandberg ยท Techcelerator ยท Tellme Networks ยท Teradyne Inc ยท The Cutler Group ยท The Invus Group LLC ยท The Walt Disney Company ยท Third Sky Inc ยท TIBCO Software Inc ยท Ticketmaster Inc ยท Tom Stone Gallery ยท Topix.net ยท TrafficBroker ยท Treehouse Enterprises ยท TripAdvisor Inc ยท TTI-C ยท Tudor Investment ยท Tufs University ยท Tulane Law School ยท Two Sigma Investments ยท Tykhe Capital LLC ยท U.S. Federal Government ยท UBS Financial Services ยท UCSF ยท Union College ยท Univ. of Southern California ยท University of Auckland ยท University of California, Berkeley ยท University of Maryland ยท University of Maryland, College Park ยท University of Michigan ยท University of Minnesota ยท University of New Hampshire ยท University of Pennsylvania ยท University of Washington ยท US Agency for International Development ยท US Foodservice ยท US Secret Service ยท Vanderbilt University ยท Vanderbilt University Medical Center ยท Venrock ยท VidaTech Incorporated ยท Viewlogic Systems ยท ViPS ยท Virgin HealthMiles, Inc. ยท VistaPrint ยท Visto Corp ยท VMware, Inc ยท VMware, Inc. ยท Washington State 8th District ยท Weight Watchers International ยท Weill Cornell Medical College ยท Windward Mark Interactive ยท Wireless Generation ยท WorldChain Inc ยท Xaraf Management LLC ยท Xaverian Brothers High School ยท Yahoo! ยท Yale University ยท Yam’s Electronics Fty Ltd ยท Yieldex ยท Zantaz Inc. ยท Zappos.com, Inc. ยท zeo Capital Advisors, Inc. ยท Zyasoft LLC