As a freshman, almost sophomore,  in high school, it’s important for me to start thinking about my future and what I want to do with my life. After high school, the three paths that open up to us are enlistment, enrollment, and employment, also known as the three Es. The path that interests me most is enrollment, due to all the opportunities that a college or university could offer me in the future. While most colleges and universities are highly expensive, there are ways to earn scholarships that could greatly decrease the price. Many of the adults in my life have gone on to get a secondary education after high school, and this has set a precedent for me to go to college as well. During the process of enrollment, I know that you can become eligible for scholarships based on academic achievements and that getting accepted into college is largely based on your GPA and either your ACT or SAT scores.

However, there is also a lot I do not know.  For example: what topics should I major and minor in and what college should I go to, taking into consideration the career I would like to have?  And, what job should I pursue after I have finished my degree?  Studying these subjects will allow me to make an educated decision on how I want to continue on the path of enrolling in a college or university and help me choose between all of my different options.

The career path I would like to pursue during my process of enrollment is information technology which contains a wide range of jobs, all uniquely different from each other. I am interested in this career path because many Information Technology professionals have had an increase in pay and demand in recent years (Ferguson), and the topic of computers and technology has always interested me. An important question I have to consider though is: Which of these jobs would be best suited for me based on my interests and monetary goals? some of the highest paying jobs in the field include computer engineers($97,380), Computer network architects($92,910), and information security analysts($90,020) (University of Oregon,2022) and based on the job descriptions of these careers the one that I think best suits my interests is a computer engineer. Computer engineers design and help develop components of computer software and hardware. Computer engineers that work on hardware will help improve a client's current computer, or help design new components of a computer's hardware.  Software engineers will supervise the employees who do most of the coding and help create applications for a client.  (University of Oregon,2022). 

There are many programs of study that are related to the IT field,  however, there are some that would be more beneficial than others when trying to become a computer engineer. These would include, computer science, computer engineering, and computer programming. (University of Oregon, 2022) According to Missouri connections,“Computer engineering programs teach people to build hardware and software programs. Students learn to assess how well computers help solve problems and complete tasks.”(University of Oregon, 2022). Computer programming teaches students how to work with code, while computer science will teach students about the design of software and hardware. (University of Oregon, 2022)  Other useful programs include applied mathematics, computational mathematics, and Information technology.(University of Oregon 2022)

Another important factor is: Which college would be best for me, considering pricing and quality of schooling, and what are the admission requirements? Some of the colleges I found that had good computer engineering or computer science undergraduate programs of study were Boston University(ACT 30-34), Oregon institute of technology(ACT,20-27), Georgia Tech(ACT 31-35), and the University of Texas at Austin(ACT26-33). (College scorecard) Boston University’s tuition is $58,072, The University of Texas at Austin’s tuition out of state is $40,032, Oregon tech’s tuition out of state is $31,379, and Georgia tech’s tuition out of state is $33,964 (College express). Based on the statistics I think the college that would help me the most would be Georgia Techtech, although expensive, I believe that I could possibly get financial aid in the form of scholarships. However, if this option does not work my next choice would be the University of Texas at Austin, due to the admission requirements being less competitive. 

Through my research, I found many helpful sources that have furthered my knowledge of what I would like to do in the future. Even if I do not pursue the Information technology career cluster, I have still learned about the process of college, which could benefit me no matter what field I decide to enter. Based on my research, I still plan on going to college, because I found that many career opportunities open after earning an undergraduate degree, and even more open once earning a postgraduate degree. This research has furthered my interest in information technology, and enrollment in general, and I am excited to pursue my passions and interests in the future.