Questioning My Major

[wl589]

Hey guys, I am a sophomore in Computer Engineering and have seriously been wondering if my degree is a good choice. I do well in school- have a 3.6 GPA, and enjoy most of what I study. However, I have two issues with my degree at the moment:

1. There are almost no upperclassmen CompEs. I have found a handful of them, but most switch to electrical engineering or computer science along the way. I realize this may be something that just occurs at my college, or is simply a consequence of computer engineering being in both fields and people diverging to one or the other. It just makes me very unsettled that so many leave the major.

2. I have gotten very little answers on exactly what computer engineers end up doing. I have scoured a lot of the internet and talked with people, including my department head, and kind of just been given "Oh well computer engineers work more on hardware, but they can code too." While this answer is right, I'm looking more for what typical jobs do they get/ what's the real difference between me and an electrical engineer in digital systems? I picked this major because I love computer hardware-due in part to this very website.

I guess to sum it up I'm worried that this major will limit my job opportunities, and is maybe not the wisest choice for someone who wants to work almost exclusively on hardware.

What do you guys think? Are there any Computer Engineer graduates here who can give me some advice?

 

[babernet_1]

http://www.softwareengineerinsider.com/articles/computer-science-vs-computer-engineering.html

Computer Engineering is an up and coming degree. I'd do it.

 

[TJ Hooker]

I did electrical engineering, and used to work with a number of computer engineers as an intern at company that developed embedded electronic control modules. I'm no expert, but hopefully I can give an semi-educated opinion on the matter:
-Comp Eng vs Electrical Eng: comp eng does more programming, and probably focuses more on digital electronics and micro controllers
-Comp Eng vs Software Eng: comp eng does more low level programming, writes code to run on micro controllers and embedded platforms rather than PCs, is at least somewhat familiar with electronics.

At the company I used to work for, most people on the software team were comp engineers. They wrote boot loaders/firmware/basic operating system/whatever would be running on an embedded platform. They'd also be doing debugging, using JTAG and logic analyzers and bench level stuff like that. Electrical engineers did the hardware design of the board, and their bench level testing was more multimeters and oscilloscopes and stuff like that.

Obviously everything I said is a generalization, and I'm sure things can vary hugely. There's definitely lots of overlap, and I routinely see job postings for electrical engineers where the tasks/skills sounds far more like computer engineer (or even software engineer sometimes), probably because electrical engineer is a broader term, and sort of encompasses comp eng to an extent. I don't think your actual degree name is terribly important; the courses you took and any work experience you have will be more important in what kind of jobs you can get. And regardless of which discipline you're in, you could end up doing something very different than what you studied in school.

Anyway, hope this rambling response was at least a little helpful.

 

[Ralston18]

I second TJ Hooker's post.

For the most part we hired a person based on an assessment that they could do the job. Plus be a team player, honest, willing to work, reliable, and not be too much of a hassel for their supervisor or co-workers.

Avoid feeling "entitled" - rightly or wrongly you will need to "pay your dues" as they say.......

Experience and education all count and generally the more of each the better. Always discussions about the mix and match between the two....

Non-degree'd people could be hired if there was off-setting experience and no specific, contractual requirement for a degree. However, having a degree was generally a big plus in many hiring and working circumstances. Even if the degree was not directly applicable.

Then there were always "certifications" - much debate there.

My overall sense is that you must continue to be willing to learn, to work hard, and to take some risks - "out of your comfort zone" as they say.

And, as busy as you are, and will be, read (or at least peruse) some current books on IT, IT Management, and Management/Leadership in general. Not at all an instant success factor but you will find that different perspectives are very helpful and will lead to some personal insights of great value to you.

Edit: Good starting book:

Title:
Cybersecurity leadership : powering the modern organization
ISBN:
9781496199270
Personal Author:
Hasib, Mansurul, author.

You will need a broader skill set as you advance (like it or not). Writing, communications, speaking, mentoring and being a mentor, will be very helpful. All the more so if you ever need to lead a team or manage some project. Working with scoping out a task, budgeting, monitoring, reporting, fixing problems (sometimes not even technical ones) will be your days. And nights.....

Join a society or other group focused on your discipline(s). Often such memberships can help you stay current on trends and other relevent factors. And many groups offer seminars and other such opportunities to learn and grow.

So do what you enjoy doing - you will not always get to do that. However, that has been and always has been a sound starting point.

Make room for fun when you can. Everyone needs time to relax, recharge, wind down. Does you good.

Lots of changes ahead no matter what. Be ready.