What is the different between low level language and high level language in a computer programing?

What sort of degree should I take if I want to learn low level computer programing? What are the available opportunities with such a degree?

• By low level computer programming, I interpret this to mean systems leveling programming, focusing on using ASM and C. I'd recommend computer engineering, software engineering, or computer science. Electrical engineering would work as well, but that's not the focus of that degree.

• Answer:

  For any sort of programming, your best bet is a computer science degree (unless you're avoiding formal degrees, obviously).  The language you program in is almost entirely irrelevant, because you can learn those later. Imagine if you wanted to be an architect, but one whose buildings would only be built out of LEGO bricks.  If you don't know about structure and space and psychology, it doesn't matter how good you are with bricks.  But a good architect can take an existing design and break it down to bricks. The job opportnities come and go.  My experience in suburban New York is that the jobs that involve low-level programming are only as an aside to the "real job."  And that makes a certain amount of sense.  Except in very specific scenarios (for example, writing the firmware for a high-volume consumer product, where pennies saved on the hardware add up to more than a programmer's salary quickly), nobody wants to pay you for four weeks of effort in assembly language when they can get someone to do the same job in a more modern language in less than one week and get nearly the same performance. I'm sure other kinds of jobs exist, but those are the positions I hear about.