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How Do I Go into Cognitive Computing?

YaShekia King
YaShekia King

Cognitive computing is a field that involves creating computers based on the way that people think so that these systems essentially act like human brains. A person who studies this area can enter career fields in developing human-computer interfaces or doing university research in artificial intelligence. If you want to go into this industry, you need to complete four years of training beyond high school as well as apply for a graduate degree program in this field. While in graduate school, you must master technology courses and complete a research project.

A person who wants to go into cognitive computing should earn a four-year bachelor’s degree in an area such as information technology with a focus on human-computer interaction. Getting into this type of college program involves filling out your desired training institution’s admission form and sending in your high school transcript. The school also will demand to see your high school diploma or the equivalent certification as well as your recent standardized test scores.

Woman doing a handstand with a computer
Woman doing a handstand with a computer

Courses in psychology and technology concepts prepare you for work in this career field. You should study how to create computer programs that are designed in a way that is easy for humans to use while taking into consideration society trends. Class projects allow you to develop solutions to improve interaction between machines and people in a hands-on fashion. These assignments enable you to master how human beings think and how computers operate, thus preparing you to create systems that model the human brain when you enter the cognitive computing field.

Earning a four-year degree makes you eligible to complete a two-year master’s degree program, which increases your chance of being hired in this industry. Enrolling in a master’s degree program in cognitive computing requires that you submit your graduate school admission test scores along with a completed enrollment application to the school that you want to attend. The institution will also demand to see your bachelor’s degree program transcript.

An advanced degree program in this vocational area allows you to explore computing concepts in more detail in addition to performing original research. For instance, your classes address how to use programming to make a machine perform a complicated action so that a human being does not have to do this. You also should be prepared to finish a thorough research thesis project on a specialized aspect of the cognitive computing field before you graduate and begin looking for jobs.

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    • Woman doing a handstand with a computer
      Woman doing a handstand with a computer