If you are deciding between majoring in statistics or computer science, you might want to know more about what each major has to offer. This post will show you the key facts about each major and help you to decide which would be a better degree for you.
At a glance:
| | Statistics | CS |
| Average pay | $69,767 | $85,235 |
| Ease of finding a job | Moderate | High |
| Types of jobs you can qualify for | Data analyst Data scientist Software engineer Financial analyst Actuarial analyst | Software Engineer Software developer Web developer App developer |
| Difficulty of the major | Hard | Moderate/Hard |
| Key things to note | Very employable if you combine it with a minor in CS. Also employable if you combine it with programming and data analysis skills. A moderately employable degree on its own. | A very employable degree with just a bachelor’s degree. A well paying degree. If you combine it with a statistics minor, you’ll improve your chances of getting data science and machine learning roles. |
Source for statistics salary and jobs
There are many things to consider when choosing between the two degrees and there are also some important things to be aware of when choosing either of them.
Details about a degree in computer science
Below are some of the key details of the computer science major.
Current pay
According to Payscale, the average salary of someone with a bachelor’s in computer science is $85,235. This makes computer science one of the best paying degrees that are available.
Many of the alternative degrees to computer science will also have high average salaries. However, not only is computer science one of the best paying degrees but it also puts you in a good position with just a bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many of the alternatives require a master’s degree to be competitive when seeking a job.
Also, many people that get alternative degrees to CS actually end up finding themselves in CS type roles. For example, it is not uncommon for math and statistics majors to find themselves working as software engineers after graduating.
Types of jobs the degree will qualify you for
There are many different types of jobs that a computer science degree will open you up to. These can include:
- Software engineer
- Database administrator
- Data scientist (often requires a master’s degree)
- Machine learning engineer (often requires a master’s degree)
- App developer
- Web developer
- Computer systems administrator
Most CS majors will end up taking jobs as a software engineer which is one of the highest-rated jobs available. When interviewing for these roles, you will be tested mainly on algorithms and data structures that you’ll learn about during your time in the major. Make sure to be very comfortable with algorithms and data structures when interviewing.
Data science is another career that is becoming popular among CS majors. If you want to get a job in data science, it would help to take classes in data analysis and machine learning, to learn Python programming, and to complete data science projects. A CS degree combined with classes relevant to data science should put you in a good position to get data science and software engineering jobs.
It would also help to try to get internships during the summer since that will also help you a lot in getting into big tech companies that have very high salaries.
How difficult it is as a major
Generally, computer science is considered as one of the easier STEM majors and most people would agree that it is slightly easier than a statistics major which is much more math-heavy. With that being said, the major will require a lot of work, at times, especially once you are done with your freshman year.
Types of classes you will study
Classes that you can expect to take include:
Programming
Data structures
Algorithms
Assembly language
Databases
Computer architecture
Computer networks
You can also expect to take some mathematics classes including:
Linear algebra
Discrete math
Calculus
If your university does not require that you take those math classes, I would strongly recommend that you take them as electives. This is because they are key classes for machine learning and, if you want to go to grad school, they will be important classes to have on your transcript.
Some classes that you might have the choice of taking could also include
Machine learning
Artificial intelligence
Computer graphics
Computer networks
Important things to be aware of when taking the degree
Before you start taking the degree, it would be very important to consider what you think you would like to do with the degree. By doing so you will be able to optimize your classes to be suited towards what you want to do after graduation.
If your goal is to get into data science or machine learning type roles, it would be important to make sure to take machine learning classes, to do machine learning projects, to take classes in data analysis and to take some statistics classes. It would also be important to make sure to take calculus and linear algebra as a freshman or sophomore if they are not required in your major.
Whereas, if your goal is to get a job as a software engineer, it would be more important to take classes that focus on algorithms and systems architecture type classes.
If you think that you want to go to grad school, it would be important to take up research opportunities and to take classes related to what you think you would like to research as a grad student. It would also be important to look at what classes graduate schools want to see when accepting CS master’s applicants.
More details about the computer science major
I have written more about the computer science major here and I have written more about how hard you can expect the major to be here.
Details about a statistics major
Below are some key details about the statistics major.
Current pay
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the demand for mathematicians and statisticians will rise by 33% by 2026. This is mainly due to the surge in data that companies have been receiving in recent years that they need people with mathematical and statistical skills to make sense of.
According to Payscale, the average pay for someone with a bachelor’s in statistics is $69,767.
Something to consider is that many of the more statistical and well-paid jobs, such as a data scientist or machine learning engineer, will often require a master’s degree.
Types of jobs the degree will qualify you for
Since statistics is used in many different fields, a stats degree will open you up to many different job opportunities.
However, many of the jobs that stats majors tend to seek such as a quantitative researcher or machine learning engineer often require a master’s degree (but not always). They can also require more specialized knowledge that you might not get in a statistics degree. This is why it would help to make sure to choose your classes according to the job you are most interested in.
With that being said, even with just a bachelor’s degree there will be many different jobs that you will qualify for.
However, statistics is a general degree that is not specific to a certain type of job in the way something such as computer science is. This means that you should take courses from the field that you want to enter and do internships and projects in that field as well in order to be competitive when seeking a job.
For example, many stats majors go into software engineering after graduation. If you want to qualify for software engineering jobs then make sure to take a data structures class and an algorithms class and try to get some internships as a software engineer while in college.
Before choosing your electives I would strongly recommend that you consider what you want to do after college and make sure to take classes related to that.
Examples of jobs that you could qualify for with a master’s in stats could include:
- Machine learning engineer
- Data scientist
- Quantitative researcher
Examples of jobs that you could qualify for with a bachelor’s in stats could include:
- Financial analyst
- Insurance underwriter
- Data analyst
- Software engineer
- Market researcher
- Actuary (requires lots of stats classes)
With that being said, there are some people that have gotten data science and machine learning jobs with just a bachelor’s. It would greatly improve your chances if you were to make sure to complete machine learning and data science projects and to do internships in those fields as an undergrad. It would also help to take computer science classes in your electives, especially data structures and algorithms.
Types of classes you will study
As a statistics major you can expect to take the following classes:
Differential calculus
Integral calculus
Multivariate calculus
Linear algebra
Discrete math
Probability
Statistics
Mathematical statistics
Data analysis
How difficult it is as a major
The statistics major is generally considered as being a moderately difficult degree. Most people would agree that it is harder than CS but easier than a math major. Some of the more advanced classes can be proof-based which tends to be much harder than the more computational classes but you might not have to take those classes depending on your specific program.
Some things to consider about the major
A Statistics degree can open up many different possible avenues for yourself and can be a very good degree when combined with a more applied minor. This is because the statistics taught in a stats major is useful in a wide variety of fields but you will need to supplement it with some field-specific coursework so that you are able to show that you can apply the statistics to those fields.
A very good combination would be to major in statistics and to minor in computer science. Doing this would open you up to job roles such as data science, machine learning engineer, data analysis and software engineering.
Majoring in computer science and minoring in statistics is also a very good combination. If you want to go down the data science route, it would also help to make sure to take some statistics and data analysis classes.
More details about the statistics major
I have written more about how to do well in a stats major here and I have written more about whether or not a stats degree is worth it here.
Computer science vs statistics degree
Below are specific reasons to choose one degree over the other
Reasons to choose a computer science degree
The key advantage that a computer science degree has over a statistics degree is that it is a very employable degree by itself. This is because the degree will qualify you for software engineering roles which are very popular right now and well paid. Whereas, a statistics degree needs to be combined with something more applied in order to make it as employable as a computer science degree.
In addition, a computer science degree is generally considered as an easier degree than statistics. This means that you will have more spare time, as a CS major, to focus on things such as applying for internships, jobs, doing research and completing projects to help improve your resume.
Also, most CS degrees will require many math classes including linear algebra, discrete math and calculus. These classes are usually enough for most mathematical job roles including data science and machine learning.
Reasons to choose a statistics degree
There are some reasons why a statistics major can be a good major. Even though it is not as employable as a CS degree, it is still a very employable degree especially if you combine it with something such as computer science. Also, it will likely require more math classes that can help in getting into grad school for statistics (although, you could choose them as electives within a CS major as well).
If you do decide to major in statistics, I would strongly recommend that you at least minor in computer science and make sure to take a class in data structures and algorithms. Doing so will help you immensely when applying to jobs. Also, it would help to make sure that you learn programming and complete projects related to the field that you would like to enter (so complete data science projects if you want to get a data science job).
Bottom line
Overall, my recommendation would be to major in computer science due to better career prospects and a less demanding course load when compared to statistics. If you’re looking to get into data science and machine learning, a math or statistics minor would also work well with a CS major.
