10 Famous People that Started out Pursuing a Degree in IT

Information Technology, or IT for short, encompasses a range of fields, including computer science, business information technology, software engineering, web design and development, computer networking and more. Pursuing a degree in IT opens up a whole world of possibilities, and sometimes those possibilities will take you to some pretty surprising places. Keep reading for ten success stories that started with a technology program.

1. Alfred Hitchcock — The famous film director and the master of the macabre studied engineering before making his mark in Hollywood.

2. Chris Hadfield — Canada’s most famous astronaut, Hadfield studied engineering before dedicating himself to space exploration.

3. David Cheriton — Cheriton studied mathematics and computer science before investing in a little-known 1990’s start-up called Google. He’s one of the richest Canadians and even has a school named after him at the University of Waterloo.

4. Donald Sutherland — This famous actor and octogenarian studied both drama and engineering as a young man.

5. Evan Spiegel — Co-founder of Snapchat, Spiegel studied product design at Stanford University before launching this incredibly popular app.

6. Jack Dorsey — This American computer programmer followed his love of Information Technology all the way to New York University before co-founding Twitter in 2006.

7. James Gosling — No relation to Ryan, James Gosling studied computer science at the University of Calgary. Now he’s known as the father of Java (the computer programming language) and is part of the team at Amazon.

8. Masi Oka — Better known as Hiro Nakamura in the television program Heroes, Masi Oka holds a bachelor of science degree in mathematics and computer science.

9. Mike Lazaridis — Founder of BlackBerry, Lazaridis studied electrical engineering before starting work on the mobile device that changed the world.

10. Reed Hastings —The CEO of the popular binge-watching site Netflix studied computer science at Stanford University before devoting himself to bringing on-demand entertainment to the masses.

Our IT programs available at Eastern Academy’s St. John’s campus will open you up to a wide range of possibilities. Even if your studies take you down an unexpected path, an IT degree might be just the launching pad you need to pursue the career of your dreams. You might even find yourself inspired to create something that will change the world forever.

For more information about pursuing a career in information technology, visit Eastern Academy today. We offer a number of IT programs at our modern and spacious St. John’s campus that will lead to work in some of the most in-demand fields on the job market. Make a difference with Eastern Academy. Contact us now to learn more about the programs we offer and how you can get started.