Quick answer: Seven computing degrees, and the choice is mostly between operating systems and building them. Information technology and cybersecurity are operational and have the lighter mathematics. Computer science, data science and artificial intelligence build things and require real mathematics. Programs, the careers this degree opens, and what they pay are covered below.
The three routes differ in mathematics load: operational work is light, security is light to moderate, and software is heavy. The route-by-route wage comparison is documented in the pay section below.
The pay is close across all three. What differs is the entry bar and the day-to-day work, and choosing on salary alone is how people end up in a degree they do not finish.
Before you request information anywhere, ask whether the coursework is genuinely asynchronous and get a written transfer credit evaluation up front. With that filter set, compare online technology degree programs enrolling now:
Every school listed is verified in federal IPEDS data both to award this degree and to offer programs that can be completed entirely by distance education at this level. Whether this exact degree is delivered fully online varies by school, so confirm the format before you apply.
This page lists 10 schools, closest group first, then ordered by BOC Score with the highest at the top. 10 of them carry a score.
Scores come from IPEDS (2024) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Earnings are for all graduates of a school, not one program, so treat them as a signal about the institution rather than about this subject. Sponsored listings are paid placements and are labelled as such; they are separate from this ranking and never change it. Read the full methodology.
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Source: ACCSC IPEDS College Scorecard
Whether the programme is genuinely asynchronous. This family has the most online options and the widest variation in how online they actually are.
What compute you get. For data science and AI, training work needs hardware or cloud budget. A programme providing neither teaches the theory only.
Whether certifications are built in. Many IT and security programmes align coursework to industry certifications, and in this family those certifications frequently carry more hiring weight than the degree does.
What the mathematics sequence looks like. If it starts at college algebra and the programme claims to produce machine-learning engineers, read the course list carefully.
Credit transfer is decided by the receiving institution and genuinely varies, so request a written transfer evaluation before you enroll.
Before you shortlist schools, it also helps to be precise about which route you are actually choosing.
Information technology is the broadest and the most forgiving entry point: networks, systems administration, cloud services and support. Network architects earn a median $134,050 across 179,740 jobs with a projected 11.9 percent change (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Associate-level entry exists, which none of the software routes really offers.
Management information systems sits between IT and business - it is the degree for running the systems function rather than the systems.
Database administration is a methodical path with comparatively light mathematics among the analytical routes. Be aware the job title itself is projected to shrink slightly even as the underlying skills stay in demand; that page says so plainly.
Cybersecurity has the strongest growth number in this family: information security analysts are projected to change by 28.5 percent through 2034, on 190,650 jobs at a median $129,180 (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
The practical caveat is that security is not usually a first job. It assumes you already understand the systems being defended, which is why a common route is IT first and specialisation second rather than a security degree straight out of a trade.
Computer science is the foundational degree: 1,687,890 software developer jobs at a median $135,980, the largest and best-paid destination in this family.
Data science and artificial intelligence are the analytical specialisations above it. Data science carries the fastest projected growth of any occupation on this site, and both assume linear algebra, probability and programming fluency on day one.
This is where career changers most often underestimate the prerequisites. The mathematics is not a formality, and no program can skip it.
Five narrower computing degrees sit alongside the seven above. They are more specific about the job at the end, which helps if you already know what you want to build and hurts if you do not.
Software development is the applied version of computer science - the same destination with less theory and more shipping. Web development narrows that again to front-end and full-stack work, and it is the one route here with a genuine associate-level entry point.
UX design is the research and interface decision side rather than the code, and it is the closest computing route for someone coming from design rather than from the tools. Cloud computing belongs with the operational routes above: it is where deployment, infrastructure and the data centre skill set land. Data analytics is the lighter-mathematics companion to data science, and a large share of its jobs sit in marketing and operations rather than in engineering.
Computing is the family where trade experience matters least on paper and more than expected in specific corners.
Data centres are the clearest example: they are buildings full of power distribution, cooling, fire suppression and structured cabling, staffed by people who understand both the racks and the plant. Electricians, HVAC technicians and controls technicians arrive with half that knowledge already.
Industrial control systems and building automation sit at the same junction. Securing a programmable logic controller is a different problem from securing a web server, and the people who understand the first are scarce.
Field service and technical support for equipment manufacturers value someone who has serviced the hardware over someone who has only read about it.
None of that removes the mathematics requirement on the software routes. It does mean the operational and security routes reward the background you already have rather than discounting it.
Median pay runs from $129,180 for information security to $135,980 for software development, and this is the family that works most completely online (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
| Route | Mathematics | Example role | Median | Projected change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operational | Light | Computer network architects | $134,050 | 11.9% |
| Security | Light to moderate | Information security analysts | $129,180 | 28.5% |
| Software | Heavy | Software developers | $135,980 | 15.8% |
Wage and employment figures BLS OEWS, May 2025; growth BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34.
Information technology is operational - networks, systems, cloud, support - and is the shorter route with associate-level entry points. Computer science is mathematical and builds software; software developers earn a median $135,980 against $134,050 for network architects (BLS OEWS, May 2025). If you like keeping systems running, IT. If you want to build them, computer science.
Information security, at a projected 28.5 percent change from 2024 to 2034, followed by software development at 15.8 percent and network architecture at 11.9 percent (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
Yes, and this family tends to work well online. Computing has no clinical placement, no shop and no laboratory that cannot be virtualised. What varies is compute access for the machine-learning paths, which is worth asking about directly.
It depends which path. Computer science, data science and artificial intelligence all require linear algebra, probability and calculus, and that is where most career changers stall. Information technology and cybersecurity are considerably lighter, and database administration is the lightest of the analytical routes.
In the infrastructure corners, yes. Data centres, industrial control systems, building automation and field service all sit where computing meets physical equipment, and people who have worked on the equipment side understand things a pure computing graduate does not. Individual outcomes may vary.
Information security analysts earn a median $129,180 against $134,050 for network architects, so the pay is comparable; the difference is growth, at 28.5 percent against 11.9 percent (BLS OEWS, May 2025; BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34). Security also assumes systems knowledge first, which is why many people take IT and specialise afterwards.
Both are graduate-weighted and mathematically demanding. Data science is projected to change by 33.5 percent through 2034, the fastest rate of any occupation covered on this site, but the entry bar is the highest here (BLS Employment Projections, 2024-34).
State pay, licensing and metro-level data for this degree. Wage and employment figures on every state page come from BLS OEWS, May 2025.
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About this guide: Researched and written by the TradeCareerPath Editorial Team. Our editorial team researches and sources every trade school and career guide using federal labor and education data, including BLS OEWS and Employment Projections, DOL apprenticeship records, IPEDS, College Scorecard, and state licensing boards. We follow the editorial standards documented at /editorial-policy/.
