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.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software developers and programmers | 15.7% | 6,480 | Limited | $48.08/hr |
| Software engineers and designersOur guide | 14.4% | 5,930 | Very limited | $56.73/hr |
| Information systems specialists | 8.6% | 3,535 | Moderate | $47.00/hr |
| Web developers and programmersOur guide | 6.7% | 2,780 | Very limited | $40.00/hr |
| Computer systems developers and programmers | 3.1% | 1,260 | Moderate | $45.67/hr |
| User support techniciansOur guide | 3% | 1,220 | Limited | $33.00/hr |
| Computer network and web technicians | 2.4% | 995 | Moderate | $35.71/hr |
| Computer and information systems managers | 2.2% | 925 | Limited | $66.67/hr |
| Cybersecurity specialistsOur guide | 2% | 830 | Limited | $51.28/hr |
| Data scientistsOur guide | 1.9% | 775 | Limited | $47.69/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 1.7% | 685 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
| Business systems specialists | 1.4% | 595 | Limited | $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.
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer network and web technicians | 7.9% | 1,285 | Moderate | $35.71/hr |
| Software developers and programmers | 7.7% | 1,245 | Limited | $48.08/hr |
| Web developers and programmersOur guide | 7.3% | 1,185 | Very limited | $40.00/hr |
| User support techniciansOur guide | 7% | 1,135 | Limited | $33.00/hr |
| Information systems specialists | 6.7% | 1,080 | Moderate | $47.00/hr |
| Computer systems developers and programmers | 4% | 650 | Moderate | $45.67/hr |
| Software engineers and designersOur guide | 3.7% | 595 | Very limited | $56.73/hr |
| Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers | 2.8% | 450 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Other customer and information services representatives | 2.3% | 365 | Very limited | $21.50/hr |
| Electronic service technicians (household and business equipment) | 2.1% | 340 | Moderate | $26.00/hr |
| Material handlers | 1.9% | 310 | Limited | $21.50/hr |
| Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers and related support occupations | 1.9% | 305 | Limited | $17.95/hr |
| Job | Share of graduates | People | Job Bank outlook | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Software developers and programmers | 14.5% | 16,905 | Limited | $48.08/hr |
| Information systems specialists | 10.9% | 12,675 | Moderate | $47.00/hr |
| Software engineers and designersOur guide | 10.8% | 12,620 | Very limited | $56.73/hr |
| Computer and information systems managers | 5.9% | 6,880 | Limited | $66.67/hr |
| Web developers and programmersOur guide | 5.2% | 6,050 | Very limited | $40.00/hr |
| Computer systems developers and programmers | 5% | 5,875 | Moderate | $45.67/hr |
| Computer network and web technicians | 2.7% | 3,150 | Moderate | $35.71/hr |
| User support techniciansOur guide | 2.1% | 2,450 | Limited | $33.00/hr |
| Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) | 1.6% | 1,880 | Limited | $52.88/hr |
| Seniors managers - public and private sector | 1.6% | 1,875 | No Job Bank outlook | — |
| Database analysts and data administrators | 1.6% | 1,840 | Moderate | $40.87/hr |
| Business systems specialists | 1.6% | 1,815 | Limited | $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
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 typesBecome 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
Jobs to look at
Careers worth a closer look
Full guides: what the work is really like, who hates it, what it pays, and the route in.
- Software developerWriting and fixing the instructions behind an app or a system, mostly by reading other people's code and working out why it is wrong.Career guide
- Web developerBuilding the pages and tools people use in a browser, and then fixing them when they break on somebody's old phone.Career guide
- Data scientistTurning messy records into an answer somebody can act on, then explaining honestly how sure you are.Career guide
- Cybersecurity specialistFinding the weak points in an organisation's systems before somebody else does, and making the boring fixes that close them.Career guide
- IT support technicianGetting people's computers, accounts and networks working again, usually while they are in a hurry and a little embarrassed.Career guide
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.
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