Are processors the only thing hardware engineers do?

[ajl.reynaud]

Hi, I'm not sure this is the right place to ask, but there it goes:
I'm a student in computer science and am interrested in specializing in computer engineering, in other words, in hardware. I really like working on it and I'm not bad at it, however, I'm kind of confused about something, everything that can be done by custom hardware can also be done by a general processor + some software, as far as I know...
Sure, the custom hardware can be somewhat faster, but the humongous production cost difference makes processors sound like a way better choice...
Am I destined to work on bettering processors and nothing more if I choose that path or is there something I don't get here?
Thank you in advance for your answer.

 

[kanewolf]

Absolutely not. Think of all the OTHER chips in a desktop or laptop. Graphics card. LCD controller. Audio chips. Network chips. WIFI chips, bluetooth chips. LOTS of options. Then there is dedicated network hardware like switches, routers, and WIFI. There is dedicated storage subsystems.
Sensors for ALL SORTS OF THINGS. Chips for in cars. The list is endless.

 

[USAFRet]

Hi, I'm not sure this is the right place to ask, but there it goes:
I'm a student in computer science and am interrested in specializing in computer engineering, in other words, in hardware. I really like working on it and I'm not bad at it, however, I'm kind of confused about something, everything that can be done by custom hardware can also be done by a general processor + some software, as far as I know...
Sure, the custom hardware can be somewhat faster, but the humongous production cost difference makes processors sound like a way better choice...
Am I destined to work on bettering processors and nothing more if I choose that path or is there something I don't get here?
Thank you in advance for your answer.

Absolutely not.

Think of the Mars Rovers. "Hardware engineers" are interested in reducing the power consumption of the entire platform in tenths of watts.
Not just the processor (of which there are several), but the entire platform.

Or your car. Plugging a sensor into the OBDII port under your steering wheel. That sensor costs maybe $30 at ebay.
Reads all sorts of stuff.

Like a misfire.
How does it read that? Not by detecting incorrect or lack of voltage to a particular cylinder.
No....
It reports that by determining the lack of rotational acceleration of the crankshaft (a sensor on that), for each expected firing of a sparkplug.
A 6 cyl engine, at 2000rpm, will need to read that at 20 times per second. And know which specific cylinder failed to fire...or partially fired, at a particular moment.
And do it under extreme vibration, in extreme temperatures. Every time, all the time, for years. Without fail.

There's a LOT more to this than just a CPU in a desktop PC or laptop.

Maybe you can be part of the team that brings nextgen laptop batteries, with a 36hour runtime, made from Unobtanium.

 

[Pinhedd]

Hi, I'm not sure this is the right place to ask, but there it goes:
I'm a student in computer science and am interrested in specializing in computer engineering, in other words, in hardware. I really like working on it and I'm not bad at it, however, I'm kind of confused about something, everything that can be done by custom hardware can also be done by a general processor + some software, as far as I know...
Sure, the custom hardware can be somewhat faster, but the humongous production cost difference makes processors sound like a way better choice...
Am I destined to work on bettering processors and nothing more if I choose that path or is there something I don't get here?
Thank you in advance for your answer.

Computer science and computer engineering are two very different fields.

Computer science is a field of applied mathematics. It is about studying computational theory and algorithms; it is not about programming. In fact, most computer science professors can't program in any non-academic language. I once worked with a CS PhD graduate that somehow managed to complete his undergrad, masters, and PhD without learning how to program in any language at all.

Computer engineering is a specialisation of electrical engineering. In most countries, including Canada and the USA, engineering programs are accredited by accreditation bodies such as ABET and CEAB.

Computer science programs may or may not be accredited by an institution, and when they are, they are not professional degree programs in the same way that an engineering program is a professional degree program.

If you wish to study computer engineering, you need to enroll in an accredited computer engineering program.

 

[USAFRet]

I once worked with a CS PhD graduate that somehow managed to complete his undergrad, masters, and PhD without learning how to program in any language at all.

Did you work with my brother?
Because that is almost exactly my brother.

 

[volkgren]

I once worked with a CS PhD graduate that somehow managed to complete his undergrad, masters, and PhD without learning how to program in any language at all.

Did you work with my brother?
Because that is almost exactly my brother.

That's amusing. Did they at least take a course in programming and just not retain it? or did they never take any programming courses?

 

[Pinhedd]

I once worked with a CS PhD graduate that somehow managed to complete his undergrad, masters, and PhD without learning how to program in any language at all.

Did you work with my brother?
Because that is almost exactly my brother.

That's amusing. Did they at least take a course in programming and just not retain it? or did they never take any programming courses?

I never asked him about that specifically.

What many people don't realise right away is that programming is more of a tradeskill than an academic pursuit. Computer science is very academic.

On the other hand, any Comp Eng graduate will be intimately familiar with C, assembly for several different microarchitectures, VHDL/Verilog, and a multitude of circuit and logic simulation suites.

 

[kanewolf]

I have been out of college for a long time (1980s), but my computer science degree does not equate to the description that @Pinhedd paints. My degree was not academic oriented. It was practical oriented. It may depend on the choice of schools and the choice of classes that an individual takes.