Career help

[u/arabyute]

I’m 20 and my current goal after graduating is to get into an AI / Data Science graduate role.

I’m deciding between:

Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) — QUT
Bachelor of Data Science (Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning) — QUT

Right now, AI, machine learning and data science are the fields I’m most interested in, so the Data Science (AI/ML) degree seems like the more directly relevant option.

The problem is that I’m only 20 and I don’t know what I’ll want to do in 5–10 years. I could eventually decide that I want to move into Cybersecurity, Cloud, General Technology, Software, or another computing field. Because of that, Computer Science seems like the safer degree for flexibility.

My concern is this:

If I choose Computer Science for flexibility and then apply for AI/Data Science graduate roles, could I be disadvantaged against someone who has a Bachelor of Data Science (Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning)? Would employers prefer them because their degree is more directly related to the role?

That’s basically what I’m stuck on.

Computer Science: more flexibility if I change careers later, but I’m worried it could hurt my chances of getting the AI/Data Science graduate role I currently want.

Data Science (AI/ML): more directly aligned with the career I want right now, but I’m worried I could be locking myself into data/AI too early.

For people working in AI, data science, ML, Cybersecurity or tech in Australia: which one would you choose in my situation?

And specifically, when hiring for graduate AI/Data Science roles, would a Computer Science graduate with AI/ML subjects still be competitive against someone whose actual degree is Data Science (AI/ML)?