So what is your job?

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I am a computer engineer working for Intel (design and design validation). I have a BS in Computer Science. Intel is an exciting company to work for, and I enjoy reading the TG Forumz daily. Although, I have to say, when I hang out with my AMD friends, we are much more civil and dispassionate than some people here. 😉

And my remarks never, in any way, reflect the views of my employer.
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Was your Comp sci degree about absolute crap, or did you actually learn about the science behind technologies.

I do loads of crap like project management and developing information systems. 🙁

That is not science!! Thats business / management to me.

I chose computer science because i thought it would be the science behind computing....apparently science isn't what i thought it was.

Anyway me, I'm a CS student, I'm a freelance software writer. I also dissasemble a lot of things and am interested in the challenges that people write into their software :)

Engineering seems to be the resounding Recommendation, and like the poster below The Software side is being shunned because it's just very difficult and very annoying field.
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I agree. Computer Science was the degree i knew as the best, but the engineering ones are much more hands on. They have become what i imagined computer science to be. If the industry catches on to what a load of rubbish these CS degrees have turned into, i feel the boredom i'm induring might have been a waste of time.

The people on the engineering courses learn a lot more and do a lot more hands on. We do crappy theory.
 
4th year Computer Science student. Can't freaking wait to graduate, though I have to wait until the fall.

After sophmore year I co-oped at Intel for nine months. Last summer I had another co-op, and this summer I have a third. The last two were in the chipset group developing tools and models for design validation. This next time I'm working in the Graphics Engineering group on the graphics performance models.

There's nothing wrong with coding software, in fact, that's a valuable skill to have. Any computer engineering job worth a damn can make use of good programming skills. If you do any design or validation work, you will most definitely need good programming skills. Most people suck at programming. That's just the way it is.

Just as important though is learning to work with people. The easy part is writing up the code for a project. The hard part is everything else.

Before I started working at Intel, I was pretty worried that the working environment would suck. Turns out it's the exact opposite. I have more fun out there than I do in college. I'm just crawling out of my skin waiting to go back.
 
Was your Comp sci degree about absolute crap, or did you actually learn about the science behind technologies.

I do loads of crap like project management and developing information systems. 🙁
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I've pretty much been alternating between co-ops/internships and going to school and definitely recommend it if you get a chance.

Every time I go from internship->school or school->internship I learn a lot more than I would have otherwise. It also helps keep me motivated in class because I have a better idea of how class relates to the real world.

Take classes that interest you, and make sure to look out for internship opportunities.

I'm also taking a project management class. If you want to be a successful engineer, you'll need to work well in groups. Everything that produces a deliverable is a project. If you're a good engineer, you'll end up being a project manager to some degree.
 
IT Manager with Intel. I started off in the fabs and gradually found I had an interest in application development, shifted my focus in the company, did well, and eventually moved into management(which I never planned, but can be very rewarding). However, I still work hard to make sure I get my coding fix....

Like Phanboy I am also friends with someone at AMD...and continue to be amused at the level of hatred people outside the two companies think the companies have for each other...

legal disclaimer...yada yada...my opinions are mine alone and do not reflect the opinion of any other entity...yada yada..insert more legalese here...;-)

hognose
 
I'm in the same situation, just a couple more months of high school

I am really interested in computer engineering, Can anyone here tell me what exactly it involves? As in what is taught in class? projects, etc?

If an answer is "advanced calculus" then my mind will change very quickly

I have 2 years of AP programming behind me (second year was hell for me so I'm not going back to that), computer maintanence and LAN management (networking or computer animation are my back up plans)
 
I do internet and phone tech support for a major cable provider in the US
went to college for 1 year for chem engineering, but organic chemistry killed me. I've been working here for about 9 months.
I make right around $30k a year, the job is easy as can be, and there is a good career path.
 
Was your Comp sci degree about absolute crap, or did you actually learn about the science behind technologies.

I do loads of crap like project management and developing information systems. 🙁
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I've pretty much been alternating between co-ops/internships and going to school and definitely recommend it if you get a chance.

Every time I go from internship->school or school->internship I learn a lot more than I would have otherwise. It also helps keep me motivated in class because I have a better idea of how class relates to the real world.

Take classes that interest you, and make sure to look out for internship opportunities.

I'm also taking a project management class. If you want to be a successful engineer, you'll need to work well in groups. Everything that produces a deliverable is a project. If you're a good engineer, you'll end up being a project manager to some degree.

Where are you from? I get to do a gap year next year, not doing it though. Just going to get the degree done. Might get some summer work. I've taught myself everything i know.
I see your point, but the course is one extreme to another.
If we could float from internships more often it woudl work better, but one solid year out hardly seems worth it. I can do that year out once i have my degree. The degree is not hard, i'm just dissapointed. I thought i was going to learn science behind computing.

In the first year they teach basic java and at the same time they are teaching about the kernel of an O/S. Luckily i knew a lot about O/S's but if i didn't know crap about programming, how the hell would i understand what a system call is and how an operating works??
It's like teaching someone how to drive a car and expecting them to become a car mechanic at the same time.
 
self taught graphic designer...video editor/3d effects. Just started my own business , some days I earn a couple a hundred.
Friend a mine- graphic designer here in the UK charges £50($100 ?) an hour, he is self taught too, oh yeah n we both work from home. MOst of what i do is visuals for night clubs... I used to be a club manager 15 years ago , .am still friends with the old gang ,so all this works out fine for me-having good contacts saves me from looking for jobs , n being an introvert I hate that.

School was rubbish , ive never used anything they taught me.I learn more watching a history/war film . They couldnt teach me French even, yet I learned Swedish in no time by living there a while. I tried collage , but hated it , I get distracted around people . I like to work alone in me' own space.

I hate authority and bad managers on power trips , I prefer to work for people I know and build some kind of relationship with them ..sometimes.
Sure Im strange , but I go with instead of fighting it , for the past 14 years or so, Ive worked hard n saved for a year or so , then kind aburnt out , so I go spend 6-12 months inThailand or somewhere cheap...where i dont have to work. I love that, not working , when there I work on my health n sports , listen to music , yoga or something. Working with computers now .I am the most unhealthy ive ever been , couldnt do this forever.

edit::/// oh be careful with RSI -repetetive strain injury if you gonna do a computer/desk job- it can hurt you real bad for a long time .

good luck.
smudgee 😀
 
basic computer technician for 20 years, BA History, worked for myself, and worked for others, you always make about the same, If I could do it again, engineering is the way to go.....so far experience has been worth more than education, but thats probably changing
 
2nd year out of college, Electrical Engineer. I work for a company that does a lot of military contracts, focusing in Power Electronics and high power devices. e.g. Large electric motors that turn the screws of Destroyers, Rail Guns for amphibious bombardment from Navy Ships, Magnetic Levitation for trains, EMALS (Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System) for Aircraft Carriers, Fusion reactors, We do a bunch of stuff. But EE's can do a ton of different things, including a lot of whats done at the processor level in computers. EE's do microelectronics (cell phones, computer power supplies, all the stuff at the sharper image), Power systems (like your local power company), Power Electronics (like what I do), there is a very wide field, which is true for every type of Engineering. Pay starts for most Engineers at 50-55k, thats pretty standard for EE's around the country, provided you find yourself a decent job. Some I know started higher, some I know started lower, but 50 is a pretty good start.

Well to be honest with you, if you don't want to do any calculus, say goodbye to almost every technical degree from a 4 year university. That doesn't mean that you'll be using calculus in your job. Quite the opposite, you have simulators to do that most of the time, but you must understand what the simulator does, and how it works. I crack open my books from college probably once a month to look up an equation, but most of the time its the concepts that I use, not the math.

I like my job a lot, good, pay, not too stressful, but thats because we are an R&D company, if you work for a company like Sony, or Qualcomm, and they want product, and they want it now, then you wind up having a higher stress job, sometimes higher pay, and it fits for some people better, just not me. I like my job a lot because I also get to play with fun toys that are on a scale most people don't think exist, and I get to learn a lot, its all new stuff that my degree only gave me a basis to build on.

Engineering is a very difficult degree to get though, I'd say its one of the most academically rigorous majors to have, and will cause you endless torment and study at the cost of a social life for a while, but if you budget your time well, you'll make the time to party.

If you have any questions though, feel free to shoot them.
 
24 tomorrow, drafting at a construction company (mostly steel fabrication), been doing it for only 8 months, and I love it, of course i'm using autocrash (when i'm doing 3d, like right now..) 95% of the day :twisted:
 
I'm a student getting close to finishing a dual major in Economics and Statistics. Hopefully after that I'll go on to get a PhD in Stats and maybe be a professor. I work for my university and I repair and update 6 of the computer labs on-campus as well as work in them. Doesn't pay the most but I can do my homework while at work so it all works out in the end.
 
Ops manager for a Global Just In Time (JIT) Print and Distribution company. 18 years. Not going into what I make per year, but I am extremely happy with my job. I travel around the US, the UK, and Hong Kong 6-8 times per year for a few days to a week at a time, and really have not much to complain about.
 
For the last eight years I've just been a bum living in what many say is a third world shithole. Pay is about $4500 per month.
 
Where are you from? I get to do a gap year next year, not doing it though. Just going to get the degree done. Might get some summer work. I've taught myself everything i know.
I see your point, but the course is one extreme to another.
If we could float from internships more often it woudl work better, but one solid year out hardly seems worth it. I can do that year out once i have my degree. The degree is not hard, i'm just dissapointed. I thought i was going to learn science behind computing.

In the first year they teach basic java and at the same time they are teaching about the kernel of an O/S. Luckily i knew a lot about O/S's but if i didn't know crap about programming, how the hell would i understand what a system call is and how an operating works??
It's like teaching someone how to drive a car and expecting them to become a car mechanic at the same time.
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I go to the University of Minnesota. Pretty good school. The Computer Science program where I am doesn't do the operating systems class until the 3rd or 4th year. Programming can be a tough concept to grasp right away; strange your college has the operating systems class so early.

A whole year is a long time to be out of class. I'm really anxious to graduate too, so I can understand not wanting to do that.
 
I work in tool and die as a cnc operator. For those that don't know tool and die is the designing/building of metal stamping (shearing,shaping) "dies" and plastic injecting molds. There are other types that I work on but the basic point is made. As for the cnc operator part, that is Computer Numerically Controlled machine. It's generally a medium sized machine (the one's I work on vary from the size of a van to the size of about two and a half vans) to extemely large (think two mobile homes stacked on each other plus some). They cut out the shape in the metal to create the form of the part, such as all most any car part that is made of metal or plastic. In some shops an operator does nothing more than receive a toolpath through a network and run said program on his/her machine. Where I work we create our own toolpaths using an easy to use but sophisticated software that develops the "tool's path". We also create these cutter paths by writing machine specific code to make less complex tool paths. Most machinists and diemakers/moldmakers serve an apprenticeship where there are schooling and job hour requirements. I on the other hand was a bit of an anomoly where I served a small portion of an apprenticeship and quit to work for another company that I succeeded at and was eventually promoted to department foreman. In Michigan the last 5 or 6 years the trade has been quite down and I have moved as shops have went out of business and downsized. The hours can be long (I average between 45 and 50 a week now, much less than I use to work). I am hourly and make 60k yearly plus or minus depending on overtime. There are other more computer specific jobs in my field, all relating to CAD/CAM engineering. This has been a good job for me but is difficult to recommend to young people as competition from the world market (cheap foreign labor) has destroyed pay and security much the way it has done to manufacturing jobs. I am sorry this post is so long but I hope it is somewhat helpful.
 
Done a bit of everything over my 17 year career.

DBA and programming are my least favorite, by a long shot.

Had a computer repair shop for almost 3 years, got sick of stupid people. Also worked for one before that for 3 years, worst job EVER ($12/hr!).

Worked for 3 ISP's, current one is a large cable company as a net admin, only deal with networking for 8 cities. It's the best job in the world, full benefits, awsome co-workers, great company. Just gotta do what the NE's say :)

Second job is a complete net/sys admin for another company of around 70 people with 7 servers (2k3 & TS, 2k, Exchange, SQL, lots of other sh*t), around 20 computers, and 50 terminals. That one's part time, only a few hours a week.

Between the two I'm in the 60k range, not including little side jobs. Considering I'm in the middle of The Least Populous State, not too shaby for only being 27 (yes I started building and selling computers, and programming, when I was 10).

Oh yeah, 3 years of college, most useless three years of my life, MS and Cisco courses are worthless in the real world. Then again, I taught class whenever my instructors were sick, so maybe I'm biased :)

Wish I made more, wish I had more free time, but my life situation is as perfect as it could be without being a multi-millionare with a private jet......ummm.....jet.....

One tip, avoid kids for as long as possible, then love them more than your computers :)
 
I was just noticing this is a very "all about me thread", not a lot of comments on each other's posts... in fact I find myself really only checking this thing to see if someone responded to my job post
 
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