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Graduates · Ontario · 2021 Census

What can you do with a computer science degree?

What graduates actually work as, from Statistics Canada, beside what Job Bank says about each job: openings, pay, and what it takes.

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What can you do with a computer science degree in Ontario?

In the 2021 Census, the most common jobs among employed Ontarians aged 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher in computer science were software developers and programmers (15.7%), software engineers and designers (14.4%) and information systems specialists (8.6%). This is one of the more direct fields: the single biggest job, software developers and programmers, covers 15.7% of these graduates, and the 12 most common jobs together cover 63.1%.

What graduates really do

What jobs do computer science graduates in Ontario actually have?

Ontario is published for the computer and information sciences group, so the lead table is Ontario graduates aged 25 to 34.

The 12 most common jobs for computer science graduates. Ontario, 25 to 34, bachelor's degree or higher: 41,195 employed people in computer and information sciences and support services. 2021 Census, Statistics Canada table 98-10-0447-01.
The 12 most common jobs for computer science graduates: Ontario, 25 to 34, bachelor's degree or higher
JobShare of graduatesPeopleJob Bank outlookMedian pay
Software developers and programmers15.7%6,480Limited$48.08/hr
Software engineers and designersOur guide14.4%5,930Very limited$56.73/hr
Information systems specialists8.6%3,535Moderate$47.00/hr
Web developers and programmersOur guide6.7%2,780Very limited$40.00/hr
Computer systems developers and programmers3.1%1,260Moderate$45.67/hr
User support techniciansOur guide3%1,220Limited$33.00/hr
Computer network and web technicians2.4%995Moderate$35.71/hr
Computer and information systems managers2.2%925Limited$66.67/hr
Cybersecurity specialistsOur guide2%830Limited$51.28/hr
Data scientistsOur guide1.9%775Limited$47.69/hr
Other customer and information services representatives1.7%685Very limited$21.50/hr
Business systems specialists1.4%595Limited$45.13/hr

How does it look for other groups?

These are different groups of people, shown separately on purpose: a different place, age group or level of education. Do not read them as one comparison.

Computer and information sciences and support services. Ontario, 25 to 34, college, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma: 16,190 employed people in computer and information sciences and support services. 2021 Census, Statistics Canada table 98-10-0447-01.
Computer and information sciences and support services: Ontario, 25 to 34, college, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma
JobShare of graduatesPeopleJob Bank outlookMedian pay
Computer network and web technicians7.9%1,285Moderate$35.71/hr
Software developers and programmers7.7%1,245Limited$48.08/hr
Web developers and programmersOur guide7.3%1,185Very limited$40.00/hr
User support techniciansOur guide7%1,135Limited$33.00/hr
Information systems specialists6.7%1,080Moderate$47.00/hr
Computer systems developers and programmers4%650Moderate$45.67/hr
Software engineers and designersOur guide3.7%595Very limited$56.73/hr
Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers2.8%450Limited$17.95/hr
Other customer and information services representatives2.3%365Very limited$21.50/hr
Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment)2.1%340Moderate$26.00/hr
Material handlers1.9%310Limited$21.50/hr
Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations1.9%305Limited$17.95/hr
Computer science. Canada, 25 to 64, bachelor's degree: 116,800 employed people in computer science. 2021 Census, Statistics Canada table 98-10-0403-01.
Computer science: Canada, 25 to 64, bachelor's degree
JobShare of graduatesPeopleJob Bank outlookMedian pay
Software developers and programmers14.5%16,905Limited$48.08/hr
Information systems specialists10.9%12,675Moderate$47.00/hr
Software engineers and designersOur guide10.8%12,620Very limited$56.73/hr
Computer and information systems managers5.9%6,880Limited$66.67/hr
Web developers and programmersOur guide5.2%6,050Very limited$40.00/hr
Computer systems developers and programmers5%5,875Moderate$45.67/hr
Computer network and web technicians2.7%3,150Moderate$35.71/hr
User support techniciansOur guide2.1%2,450Limited$33.00/hr
Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers)1.6%1,880Limited$52.88/hr
Seniors managers - public and private sector1.6%1,875No Job Bank outlook—
Database analysts and data administrators1.6%1,840Moderate$40.87/hr
Business systems specialists1.6%1,815Limited$45.13/hr

Do those jobs have openings?

Which of those jobs are hiring?

None of the 12 most common jobs for these graduates has a good or very good Ontario outlook from Job Bank for 2025 to 2027; the best-rated are listed below. That means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hired. Outlook is a province-wide forecast of openings against job seekers, not a promise for any one town or employer.

  • Information systems specialists: Job Bank outlook moderate, 8.6% of these graduates.
  • Computer systems developers and programmers: Job Bank outlook moderate, 3.1% of these graduates.
  • Computer network and web technicians: Job Bank outlook moderate, 2.4% of these graduates.

When the degree is not enough

What does the degree not lead to on its own?

Computer science is not a regulated field in Ontario, so no licence stands between you and most software, data or IT jobs. Employers look at what you have built, your skills and your experience.

We could not verify an official page for an IT professional designation, so we do not list one. If a job posting asks for a certification, check who issues it and what it requires.

Routes that need more than the degree

  1. Add a college graduate certificate

    Ontario Colleges states that graduate certificates require a university degree or a college certificate or diploma for admission, and build on knowledge and experience from earlier postsecondary study. Check each program on ontariocolleges.ca for its own entry requirements. Ontario Colleges: program types
  2. Become an Ontario certified teacher

    The Ontario College of Teachers describes a consecutive program as a four-semester program leading to a Bachelor of Education, open to students who have completed an undergraduate degree. Its becoming-a-teacher page lists a postsecondary degree of at least three years plus a four-semester teacher education program, then an application to the College for certification. Ontario College of Teachers: teacher education program providers

Read this before you rely on it

What the numbers do not show

  • The Census is from 2021. Jobs and hiring have moved since. Job Bank's outlook is current to 2025 to 2027.
  • It counts employed people and what they do, not whether they wanted that job or use their degree in it. A graduate working as a retail supervisor is counted in the data exactly like one working in their field.
  • It is a 25% sample, and Statistics Canada rounds every count to a multiple of five. Small groups are noisy.
  • For Ontario the Census publishes bachelor's degree or higher together, so those tables include master's and doctoral graduates.
  • Each person is counted once, by their highest credential. A person who finished a diploma and then a degree appears under the degree, not the diploma.
  • The 12 jobs shown are the most common, not all of them. The rest of the graduates are spread across hundreds of other jobs.

Sources: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, tables 98-10-0447-01 and 98-10-0403-01; Job Bank (Employment and Social Development Canada) Ontario outlooks and wages, linked on each job. We join them by occupation code and change neither.