The explosion of digital technology in the last few years is sufficiently dramatic and important to be called a revolution, or possibly the start of a new era in human evolution. In any case, this explosion creates many employment opportunities for programmers.

Programming Really Small Things

It may not be obvious, but all of those digital gadgets in your life -- from thermostats to microwave ovens -- are running programs written by somebody. You may see this field referred to as embedded computing because the computers are an inseparable part of these gadgets.

The smallest computers, called microcontrollers , are widely used in modern electronics. With all that activity, naturally there are highly specialized Web sites where you can learn more about jobs, tools, and manufacturers that use microcontrollers.

There used to be program microcontrollers in assembler or C; in fact, these are still used in some instances. But as it becomes less expensive to put more computing power on a chip, it's becoming more feasible to program microcontrollers in higher-level languages. When you have a microcontroller that can be programmed in Java, can connect to the Internet, and can also run a Web site, shouldn't it get a more grandiose name?

One of the smallest computers capable of running a Web site is about the size of a kitchen match head. You might not believe it, but here it is .

Highly Portable Computing Power

Computer users are having a convergence of computing and communicating power in the form of portable devices that combines Web browser, text messaging, e-mail handler, desktop utility, and telephone capabilities.

Because of general standardization on Java as a widely supported language on such devices, an astonishingly large market for cell phone games has arisen in the last few years. If you like to program games but don't relish working on the monsters that PC games have become, maybe this field is for you.

We Are the Robots

Robotics is currently another field that might interest you. Programming robots can involve anything from electrical engineering to artificial intelligence. You don't need to spend big bucks to get started, either. Lego makes a low-priced but highly capable robot kit that can be programmed in Java . On the serious side, robot programming can even get you involved in space exploration .

Scientific Computing

Practically all scientific fields involve moderate to heavy use of computer power -- from computerized lab instruments using embedded computing power to the largest supercomputer complexes doing climate modeling. Computing power is essential to genome sequencing, earthquake prediction, and climate modeling, just to name a few.

A wide variety of languages are used in scientific computing, but you can't go wrong by studying the C family of languages back in Lesson 4.

Dynamic Web Pages and the Arts

Programming and the arts! Incompatible? Not at all. Human interface design, especially in the commercial world, is all about perception and emotional impact. If poorly designed Web pages and ghastly interfaces make your artist's soul cringe, maybe Web design, which combines both programming and artistic sensibility, is for you.

The hot technologies in this area are JavaScript, which you have looked at several times in these lesson, and Macromedia Flash and related technologies. In some cases, Java applets can create a dynamic effect on a Web page that simply can't be approached by any other technology.

Internet Services

All Web sites that use dynamically created Web pages, such as portals, auctions, or shopping carts, have to be programmed by somebody -- so, why not you? As more commerce and information retrieval moves to the Web, more job opportunities are created.