There are three main types of computer vision jobs: research, teaching, and the application of knowledge in the real world. Computer vision jobs are available through government offices, private and public companies, as well as colleges and universities. Many jobs take place in a laboratory setting and focus on cutting-edge, experimental work in computer vision and image processing. Jobs in this field are concerned with the extraction and interpretation of information from images, so there are jobs in such industries as manufacturing, navigation, and surveillance, along with many others.
Research-related computer vision jobs focus on developing new technology and means of processing information through the use of images. These jobs take place in colleges and universities, as well as in research laboratories in public and private organizations. This field is rapidly advancing due to the fast changes that occur in technology, so individuals engaging in research can work with technology that captures, processes, or analyzes images. Other areas of research include rendering and gaining understanding of the visual content extracted from various sources.
Another main area of computer vision jobs is within the teaching sector. There are many colleges and universities that offer programs in computer vision, and instructors are needed to teach students information about the field. These jobs often take place in an engineering or computer science department of a college or university, and require at least a master's degree in the field to be competitive, though most often a doctoral degree is required.
The application of computer vision is often needed at jobs in manufacturing, surveillance, and healthcare. Computer vision is utilized for various applications such as controlling the manufacturing process with industrial robots, or developing facial recognition programs for high-security areas that need to be monitored. In healthcare, computer vision jobs help doctors understand what is happening with a patient through modeling and rendering the human body. Some of these jobs involve developing tools and equipment for these specialized needs, while others involve analyzing data that comes from available machines.
Since computer vision focuses on technology that can automatically capture images and analyze them, computer vision jobs generally involve the creation and maintenance of the machines. They need to be checked for accuracy and programmed to do the specific task they are needed to do within an organization. These jobs involve complicated mathematical algorithms and computer programming language to get the machine to perform the necessary task.