Best Online Computer Programming Degrees 2024

Computer programmers write, test, and modify code and scripts for software and applications. They work in teams and have strong time management, problem-solving, and communication skills.

With a computer programming degree, you can become a software developer or work on AI. While you could launch a computer programming career with an associate degree or a bootcamp program, a bachelor’s degree gives you distinctive advantages. Most major companies seek programmers with at least a bachelor’s degree.

Learn about the top online computer programming degrees, potential jobs, and salaries in the industry.

Computer programming and computer science sound similar but are distinct fields of study. Computer programming centers on coding and software development, while computer science looks at theoretical foundations, research, and innovation in computing.

There’s an overlap in careers with these two degrees, but generally, computer scientists focus on developing new systems, computing techniques, and algorithms, while computer programmers work directly with coding applications.

Which degree works best depends on your career goals and whether you prefer coding or other aspects of computer science. The programs of study are similar, although computer scientists may have more research or hardware applications while programmers focus on software and coding applications.

Jobs you can pursue with an online computer programming degree include web developer, back-end and front-end developer, information security analyst, or software developer. The median salary for careers with a computer programming degree is higher than the national average.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the median salary for these professionals ranges from $95,380 for web developers to $131,450 for software developers and analysts. Computer programmers made a median salary of $98,670.

The BLS projects computer programming jobs to decrease by 10%, partly due to other related positions, such as software developers and analysts, commonly performing programming tasks.

However, other computer science careers are projected to grow faster than the national average. For example, the BLS projects that information security analyst jobs will grow by 33%, while software or application developer jobs will grow by 25%.

While ChatGPT can automate certain programming tasks and assist in various stages of the coding process, it is a resource for programmers, not a replacement for human problem-solving skills. It cannot completely replace computer programmers and wasn’t designed to do so.

In addition, ChatGPT has some major limitations, from out-of-date data to a lack of internet access. The free version of ChatGPT uses data from September 2021. The software may also provide biased answers or often cannot understand the context of a question or command.

ChatGPT is one of numerous AI resources that can help computer programmers with tedious tasks like debugging, but none are expected to replace the need for programmers. AI can help programmers save time, eliminate biases, automate repetitive tasks, increase productivity, and learn new concepts.

While AI could replace some coding jobs in the future, there’s an enduring need for programmers who can bring creativity, intuition, context awareness, collaborative designs, and a human-centric interface into computer programming.

While certain major employers of computer programmers, such as Meta and Google, have made headlines for recent layoffs, careers related to computer programming are projected to grow. The BLS projects about 6,400 job openings for programmers annually for the next decade.

However, be prepared to pivot your career to related computer programming roles, such as a software developer, systems analyst, or software engineer. These careers are projected to grow substantially — up to 4 times the national average — from 2023 to 2033.