What you study typically dictates your future career. Picking an academic subject is a decision that pairs your passion with practicality, particularly in the computer science and data science fields.
If you’re at a crossroads between choosing one or the other, think about which path aligns with your interests and gives you the best chance of building a bright digital future.
Understanding the Core of Computer Science
Computer science is the backbone of technology. This field prepares you for understanding how software and systems work. It teaches the basics of coding and the complexities of algorithms and network security, all within the same field.
It’s a broad discipline with a knack for problem-solving and innovative thinking. When you master it, you might be crafting the next big app or securing cyber spaces for major companies.
Diving Into Data Science
In contrast, data science zooms in more closely on the digital age’s most precious resource: data. A degree in data science equips you with the knowledge to sift through mountains of information and extract insights that can be used in various industries. For example, it could help healthcare professionals uncover patterns in patient care, sports agents devise new strategies based on big data, or businesses to plan out a targeted marketing campaign.
Data science is about pattern recognition, predictive modeling, and telling stories through data visualization. It’s where statistics meet strategy and empower those in decision-making positions with actionable intelligence.
Comparing Curriculums: Computer Science vs Data Science Degree
Both degrees share a foundation in math and analytical thinking in terms of curricula. Regardless, they have distinct differences:
- Computer Science students are immersed in programming languages, software engineering principles, and computing theory. Their tasks consist primarily of building, designing, and optimizing systems.
- Data Science coursework, on the other hand, mixes together statistics, machine learning, data visualization, and ethical considerations in data handling. It focuses on the lifecycle of data analysis, from collection to communication.
- Each curriculum imparts the basic and advanced technical skills and fosters critical thinking. Once they graduate from either course, graduates will have the means to handle complex problems with creative solutions.
Career Trajectories: Data Science Degree vs Computer Science
Graduates from both fields are in high demand, but the roads they travel can look quite different.
- Computer Science aficionados might be developing software, protecting users against cyber threats, patching and upgrading existing systems, or designing new computing hardware.
- Data Science experts are likely to take on roles like data analysis, predictive modeling, or AI and machine learning engineering.
Fortunately, neither choice will leave you wanting in terms of salary. The sectors are thirsty for the talent and prepared to pay well for the best talent. The salary shouldn’t affect your choice, but whether your passion lies in creation versus analysis.
For instance, in Germany, you’re looking at an average salary of about €50,000 ($54,635) as of 2024. When you compare these numbers to the tech field in the U.S., salaries in countries like the U.K., Poland, France, Germany, and Spain range from 34% to 63% of what their counterparts make in the U.S. If you’re in the tech industry in Europe, what you take home can vary quite a bit depending on where you are.
In the U.K., the average salary for data scientists as of 2024 is around $67,254 per year, with potential additional compensation bringing it up to $79,978. Meanwhile, in Germany, the median salary for a data scientist is just slightly less, around €66,000 ($72,111) per year.
Educational Prerequisites and Learning Outcomes
Before enrolling into either of these fields, you must have a solid base in mathematics and a talent for problem-solving. More specifically, computer science aspirants should get ready for high-level programming, so basic familiarity with programming logic, languages (any would help), and algorithms will do wonders. Just as importantly, you should also have a strong grip on logical reasoning.
Furthermore, data science enthusiasts will need to have a solid understanding of statistics and a knack for critical thinking. Graduates from both fields emerge as tech-savvy professionals who can tackle tomorrow’s challenges with a deep understanding of tech nuances.
OPIT’s Approach to Technology Education
OPIT is at the heart of technology education. The service offers MSc in Applied Data Science and AI and BSc in Modern Computer Science. Both programs have the future in mind, yours and of that of the tech industry as a whole. The programs mix theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience to meet the demands of the job market.
They diverge in focus but converge in aim: to forge skilled professionals ready to make an impact. Best of all, the programs set themselves apart from the traditional classroom education with personalized study that you can do at your own time, without constrictive exams. Instead, the programs focus on continuous learning.
Making Your Decision: Factors to Consider
Now, while you might have a better understanding of what each field represents, there’s a lot more to it. The choice between data science and computer science hinges on a few factors:
- Decide if you are more interested by the prospect of developing software or deciphering data patterns.
- Think about where you see yourself in the tech industry and the type of projects that excite you.
- Keep an eye on the future, understand which skills are likely to remain in high demand, and whether they suit you.
- These considerations can put you on track for a degree that fuels your passion and boosts your career prospects.
Two Options, One Choice
Data science and computer science degrees are both lucrative, in demand, creative, and engaging careers. More than simply academic choices, they will determine what professions you can enter and your future opportunities. Ultimately, your interests, skills, and strengths should decide which path you take. Both pay well and both reward hard work, so choose wisely. Either way, the possibilities are vast and continue to grow by the day.
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From the same author
Read the articleFrom personalization to productivity: AI at the heart of the educational experience.
Click this link to read and download the e-book.
At its core, teaching is a simple endeavour. The experienced and learned pass on their knowledge and wisdom to new generations. Nothing has changed in that regard. What has changed is how new technologies emerge to facilitate that passing on of knowledge. The printing press, computers, the internet – all have transformed how educators teach and how students learn.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the next game-changer in the educational space.
Specifically, AI agents have emerged as tools that utilize all of AI’s core strengths, such as data gathering and analysis, pattern identification, and information condensing. Those strengths have been refined, first into simple chatbots capable of providing answers, and now into agents capable of adapting how they learn and adjusting to the environment in which they’re placed. This adaptability, in particular, makes AI agents vital in the educational realm.
The reasons why are simple. AI agents can collect, analyse, and condense massive amounts of educational material across multiple subject areas. More importantly, they can deliver that information to students while observing how the students engage with the material presented. Those observations open the door for tweaks. An AI agent learns alongside their student. Only, the agent’s learning focuses on how it can adapt its delivery to account for a student’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, and existing knowledge.
Think of an AI agent like having a tutor – one who eschews set lesson plans in favour of an adaptive approach designed and tweaked constantly for each specific student.
In this eBook, the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) will take you on a journey through the world of AI agents as they pertain to education. You will learn what these agents are, how they work, and what they’re capable of achieving in the educational sector. We also explore best practices and key approaches, focusing on how educators can use AI agents to the benefit of their students. Finally, we will discuss other AI tools that both complement and enhance an AI agent’s capabilities, ensuring you deliver the best possible educational experience to your students.
Read the articleThe Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) began enrolling students in 2023 to help bridge the skills gap between traditional university education and the requirements of the modern workplace. OPIT’s MSc courses aim to help professionals make a greater impact on their workplace through technology.
OPIT’s courses have become popular with business leaders hoping to develop a strong technical foundation to understand technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, that are shaping their industry. But OPIT is also attracting professionals with strong technical expertise looking to engage more deeply with the strategic side of digital innovation. This is the story of one such student, Obiora Awogu.
Meet Obiora
Obiora Awogu is a cybersecurity expert from Nigeria with a wealth of credentials and experience from working in the industry for a decade. Working in a lead data security role, he was considering “what’s next” for his career. He was contemplating earning an MSc to add to his list of qualifications he did not yet have, but which could open important doors. He discussed the idea with his mentor, who recommended OPIT, where he himself was already enrolled in an MSc program.
Obiora started looking at the program as a box-checking exercise, but quickly realized that it had so much more to offer. As well as being a fully EU-accredited course that could provide new opportunities with companies around the world, he recognized that the course was designed for people like him, who were ready to go from building to leading.
OPIT’s MSc in Cybersecurity
OPIT’s MSc in Cybersecurity launched in 2024 as a fully online and flexible program ideal for busy professionals like Obiora who want to study without taking a career break.
The course integrates technical and leadership expertise, equipping students to not only implement cybersecurity solutions but also lead cybersecurity initiatives. The curriculum combines technical training with real-world applications, emphasizing hands-on experience and soft skills development alongside hard technical know-how.
The course is led by Tom Vazdar, the Area Chair for Cybersecurity at OPIT, as well as the Chief Security Officer at Erste Bank Croatia and an Advisory Board Member for EC3 European Cybercrime Center. He is representative of the type of faculty OPIT recruits, who are both great teachers and active industry professionals dealing with current challenges daily.
Experts such as Matthew Jelavic, the CEO at CIM Chartered Manager Canada and President of Strategy One Consulting; Mahynour Ahmed, Senior Cloud Security Engineer at Grant Thornton LLP; and Sylvester Kaczmarek, former Chief Scientific Officer at We Space Technologies, join him.
Course content includes:
- Cybersecurity fundamentals and governance
- Network security and intrusion detection
- Legal aspects and compliance
- Cryptography and secure communications
- Data analytics and risk management
- Generative AI cybersecurity
- Business resilience and response strategies
- Behavioral cybersecurity
- Cloud and IoT security
- Secure software development
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Leadership and communication in cybersecurity
- AI-driven forensic analysis in cybersecurity
As with all OPIT’s MSc courses, it wraps up with a capstone project and dissertation, which sees students apply their skills in the real world, either with their existing company or through apprenticeship programs. This not only gives students hands-on experience, but also helps them demonstrate their added value when seeking new opportunities.
Obiora’s Experience
Speaking of his experience with OPIT, Obiora said that it went above and beyond what he expected. He was not surprised by the technical content, in which he was already well-versed, but rather the change in perspective that the course gave him. It helped him move from seeing himself as someone who implements cybersecurity solutions to someone who could shape strategy at the highest levels of an organization.
OPIT’s MSc has given Obiora the skills to speak to boards, connect risk with business priorities, and build organizations that don’t just defend against cyber risks but adapt to a changing digital world. He commented that studying at OPIT did not give him answers; instead, it gave him better questions and the tools to lead. Of course, it also ticks the MSc box, and while that might not be the main reason for studying at OPIT, it is certainly a clear benefit.
Obiora has now moved into a leading Chief Information Security Officer Role at MoMo, Payment Service Bank for MTN. There, he is building cyber-resilient financial systems, contributing to public-private partnerships, and mentoring the next generation of cybersecurity experts.
Leading Cybersecurity in Africa
As well as having a significant impact within his own organization, studying at OPIT has helped Obiora develop the skills and confidence needed to become a leader in the cybersecurity industry across Africa.
In March 2025, Obiora was featured on the cover of CIO Africa Magazine and was then a panelist on the “Future of Cybersecurity Careers in the Age of Generative AI” for Comercio Ltd. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry also invited him to speak on Cybersecurity in Africa.
Obiora recently presented the keynote speech at the Hackers Secret Conference 2025 on “Code in the Shadows: Harnessing the Human-AI Partnership in Cybersecurity.” In the talk, he explored how AI is revolutionizing incident response, enhancing its speed, precision, and proactivity, and improving on human-AI collaboration.
An OPIT Success Story
Talking about Obiora’s success, the OPIT Area Chair for Cybersecurity said:
“Obiora is a perfect example of what this program was designed for – experienced professionals ready to scale their impact beyond operations. It’s been inspiring to watch him transform technical excellence into strategic leadership. Africa’s cybersecurity landscape is stronger with people like him at the helm. Bravo, Obiora!”
Learn more about OPIT’s MSc in Cybersecurity and how it can support the next steps of your career.
-
Go to all authors
Related posts
From personalization to productivity: AI at the heart of the educational experience.
Click this link to read and download the e-book.
At its core, teaching is a simple endeavour. The experienced and learned pass on their knowledge and wisdom to new generations. Nothing has changed in that regard. What has changed is how new technologies emerge to facilitate that passing on of knowledge. The printing press, computers, the internet – all have transformed how educators teach and how students learn.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the next game-changer in the educational space.
Specifically, AI agents have emerged as tools that utilize all of AI’s core strengths, such as data gathering and analysis, pattern identification, and information condensing. Those strengths have been refined, first into simple chatbots capable of providing answers, and now into agents capable of adapting how they learn and adjusting to the environment in which they’re placed. This adaptability, in particular, makes AI agents vital in the educational realm.
The reasons why are simple. AI agents can collect, analyse, and condense massive amounts of educational material across multiple subject areas. More importantly, they can deliver that information to students while observing how the students engage with the material presented. Those observations open the door for tweaks. An AI agent learns alongside their student. Only, the agent’s learning focuses on how it can adapt its delivery to account for a student’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, and existing knowledge.
Think of an AI agent like having a tutor – one who eschews set lesson plans in favour of an adaptive approach designed and tweaked constantly for each specific student.
In this eBook, the Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) will take you on a journey through the world of AI agents as they pertain to education. You will learn what these agents are, how they work, and what they’re capable of achieving in the educational sector. We also explore best practices and key approaches, focusing on how educators can use AI agents to the benefit of their students. Finally, we will discuss other AI tools that both complement and enhance an AI agent’s capabilities, ensuring you deliver the best possible educational experience to your students.
The Open Institute of Technology (OPIT) began enrolling students in 2023 to help bridge the skills gap between traditional university education and the requirements of the modern workplace. OPIT’s MSc courses aim to help professionals make a greater impact on their workplace through technology.
OPIT’s courses have become popular with business leaders hoping to develop a strong technical foundation to understand technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, that are shaping their industry. But OPIT is also attracting professionals with strong technical expertise looking to engage more deeply with the strategic side of digital innovation. This is the story of one such student, Obiora Awogu.
Meet Obiora
Obiora Awogu is a cybersecurity expert from Nigeria with a wealth of credentials and experience from working in the industry for a decade. Working in a lead data security role, he was considering “what’s next” for his career. He was contemplating earning an MSc to add to his list of qualifications he did not yet have, but which could open important doors. He discussed the idea with his mentor, who recommended OPIT, where he himself was already enrolled in an MSc program.
Obiora started looking at the program as a box-checking exercise, but quickly realized that it had so much more to offer. As well as being a fully EU-accredited course that could provide new opportunities with companies around the world, he recognized that the course was designed for people like him, who were ready to go from building to leading.
OPIT’s MSc in Cybersecurity
OPIT’s MSc in Cybersecurity launched in 2024 as a fully online and flexible program ideal for busy professionals like Obiora who want to study without taking a career break.
The course integrates technical and leadership expertise, equipping students to not only implement cybersecurity solutions but also lead cybersecurity initiatives. The curriculum combines technical training with real-world applications, emphasizing hands-on experience and soft skills development alongside hard technical know-how.
The course is led by Tom Vazdar, the Area Chair for Cybersecurity at OPIT, as well as the Chief Security Officer at Erste Bank Croatia and an Advisory Board Member for EC3 European Cybercrime Center. He is representative of the type of faculty OPIT recruits, who are both great teachers and active industry professionals dealing with current challenges daily.
Experts such as Matthew Jelavic, the CEO at CIM Chartered Manager Canada and President of Strategy One Consulting; Mahynour Ahmed, Senior Cloud Security Engineer at Grant Thornton LLP; and Sylvester Kaczmarek, former Chief Scientific Officer at We Space Technologies, join him.
Course content includes:
- Cybersecurity fundamentals and governance
- Network security and intrusion detection
- Legal aspects and compliance
- Cryptography and secure communications
- Data analytics and risk management
- Generative AI cybersecurity
- Business resilience and response strategies
- Behavioral cybersecurity
- Cloud and IoT security
- Secure software development
- Critical thinking and problem-solving
- Leadership and communication in cybersecurity
- AI-driven forensic analysis in cybersecurity
As with all OPIT’s MSc courses, it wraps up with a capstone project and dissertation, which sees students apply their skills in the real world, either with their existing company or through apprenticeship programs. This not only gives students hands-on experience, but also helps them demonstrate their added value when seeking new opportunities.
Obiora’s Experience
Speaking of his experience with OPIT, Obiora said that it went above and beyond what he expected. He was not surprised by the technical content, in which he was already well-versed, but rather the change in perspective that the course gave him. It helped him move from seeing himself as someone who implements cybersecurity solutions to someone who could shape strategy at the highest levels of an organization.
OPIT’s MSc has given Obiora the skills to speak to boards, connect risk with business priorities, and build organizations that don’t just defend against cyber risks but adapt to a changing digital world. He commented that studying at OPIT did not give him answers; instead, it gave him better questions and the tools to lead. Of course, it also ticks the MSc box, and while that might not be the main reason for studying at OPIT, it is certainly a clear benefit.
Obiora has now moved into a leading Chief Information Security Officer Role at MoMo, Payment Service Bank for MTN. There, he is building cyber-resilient financial systems, contributing to public-private partnerships, and mentoring the next generation of cybersecurity experts.
Leading Cybersecurity in Africa
As well as having a significant impact within his own organization, studying at OPIT has helped Obiora develop the skills and confidence needed to become a leader in the cybersecurity industry across Africa.
In March 2025, Obiora was featured on the cover of CIO Africa Magazine and was then a panelist on the “Future of Cybersecurity Careers in the Age of Generative AI” for Comercio Ltd. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry also invited him to speak on Cybersecurity in Africa.
Obiora recently presented the keynote speech at the Hackers Secret Conference 2025 on “Code in the Shadows: Harnessing the Human-AI Partnership in Cybersecurity.” In the talk, he explored how AI is revolutionizing incident response, enhancing its speed, precision, and proactivity, and improving on human-AI collaboration.
An OPIT Success Story
Talking about Obiora’s success, the OPIT Area Chair for Cybersecurity said:
“Obiora is a perfect example of what this program was designed for – experienced professionals ready to scale their impact beyond operations. It’s been inspiring to watch him transform technical excellence into strategic leadership. Africa’s cybersecurity landscape is stronger with people like him at the helm. Bravo, Obiora!”
Learn more about OPIT’s MSc in Cybersecurity and how it can support the next steps of your career.
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