This page gives career information of relevance to Imperial students within the Department of Computing (DoC).
You can find out how the Careers Service supports Imperial students on our Services for students webpage, explore our career events, attend one-to-one appointments and sign up for our weekly newsletter, sent every Thursday (sign up by checking the relevant box on your personal profile on JobsLive). Whatever stage you are at with your studies, we’re here to help from first year undergraduates right through to PhD studies – you don’t even have to know what you want to do to make use of our services!
What can you do with a Department of Computing (DoC) degree?
A degree from the Department of Computing (DoC) opens a wide range of career options. Some of our graduates move into a career directly related to their studies while others take alternative routes. Check out the Graduate Outcomes data for further details behind the 80% of Imperial DoC graduates go into employment at the end of their first degree and the 10% who choose to pursue further study or training options at MSc, PhD or specialist vocational levels. Use the resources below to help you start to explore and understand your options and to begin to develop your career plans.
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Whatever career you choose, future employers will want to see evidence of the skills you have developed in your studies. Your degree programme equips you with essential core skills, but you’ll also learn how to adapt to technological change, with its challenges and opportunities. Your computing degree combines theoretical study and practical project work teaching you subject specific technical skills and coding while also developing ‘soft skills’ in teamwork; communication; problem-solving; negotiation; organisation and report writing etc. You’ll also have opportunities to develop your commercial awareness and professional networks through industry talks, internships, and placements (MEng).
The skills you’ll develop are highly valued by employers in many sectors which is why our graduates go on to work in very broad areas. It’s good to reflect on your abilities and consider what skills you can evidence and which skills you may need to enhance. Use our Self reflection webpage to help you understand and document your abilities. This will underpin your career plans and applications for future opportunities.
During your degree you will have many opportunities to develop and learn new skills. Employers will want to see what you have been doing to develop your skills and knowledge outside your course while you have been a student. Experiences such as student societies, part-time work, volunteering and sports can develop your skills and will be valuable additions to your CV. Work experience can also help develop skills and help you decide what career direction you want to follow. These experiences also make you more competitive in future job or further study applications as they show a breadth of experience beyond pure academic study.
As an Imperial student you can participate, or take a leadership role, in a wide variety of Students’ Union activities where you’ll develop many skills. You also have free access to LinkedIn Learning and can use this to develop or improve your knowledge and abilities with software tools and skills through instructional videos taught by industry experts skills. You will also have access to several DoC presentations and workshops providing you with advice on career planning and giving you industry insights. Many of the session recordings are held within the DOC Blackboard VLE or on our Department of Computing (DoC) recordings webpage which is updated throughout the year.
Throughout your DoC degree you can also learn and develop the skills required to be successful in the job or internship market. For example, you will need to know how to create a strong CV, write a good cover letter and perform well in interviews. We can help you to learn these skills. Start with the Applications and interviews section of our website, and by attending our skills training and workshops.
For more personalised support once you've made use of the aforementioned resources, you can book a one-to-one appointment to speak with a member of our team.