Computer Engineering a viable future?

[Annoyingrob]

Here's an interesting question for some of you. Currently I'm an undergraduate in my first year of engineering. At this point it's all general, and I don't have to chose a specific department until next year. I wanted to go into Computer Engineering, as I love computers, and I really feel that I would have a rewarding job in the whole computer hardware industry (IE designing physical computing devices). My father however is quite concerned that there just isn't a job market out there for Computer Engineers, and keeps stressing that I become a Chemical Engineer. My question is this: I want to become a Computer Engineer, but I have the option to switch majors in the next year if I feel I need to. What are everyone's views on the current job market? Are Computer Engineers a hot item in this day and age? Or are any available jobs being sold out to foreign business?

[XWRed1]

If computers are what you like, it shouldn't matter if there is a job slump right now.

[moorcito]

I agree with XWRed1, plus who knows what the job market will be like in the 3-4 years when you graduate.

[Krusty]

If you want to go into a job market that should be booming by the time you get out of college, go into bioinformatics. That recommendation came from one of my computer science professors who is apparently very good at predicting the next booming industry. He said the last time he made a recommendation, it was like 8 years ago and he recommended security/encryption.

Aside from that, I think you'll be fine as long as you stick with some type of engineering. If the market is slow, you may not get the exact job you want, but at least your degree isn't in history or psychology or something.

[Annoyingrob]

yeah, I figured an Engineering degree would atleast put me ahead of the crowd somewhat with getting a job. Thanks for the input, I think I will probably just stick with it, as it is one of my passions in life, and might as well make a fulfilling career out of it rather than doing something I don't want just because someone thaought it would be better for me.

[DaveSauce]

just don't pick something you hate, or else you'll be stuck with it unless you want to go back to college for another 4 years.

Would you rather be able to get a job you hate any time you want for top dollar, or earn a better than average wage doing something you love?

You are going to have an engineering degree either way. Theres almost no way you are going to get a crappy job. By attending college you're already WAY ahead of tons of people in the workforce. You shouldn't have any worry as to weather or not you can get a job. Getting a job in your specific field is another matter. IMO, it's better to have a job that will pay the bills than be out of work just because you can't find a job "in your field."

Anyhow, I HOPE there's a job market for computer engineers in 4 years.....cuz I'm halfway through my first year already, and I intend on sticking with this major.

[deRusett]

If you do go the COmputer Engineering route, make sure you pick up as many software cources on the way,


Every Computer Engineer I know gave me the same advice when I was thinking of Computer Engineering,

They said, Hardware is becomming a thing of the past, most do software, the hardware stuff is done my Electrical engineers, more then Computer Engineers,

I have 2 Family Memebrs who are Computer Engineers, and a few "uncles" only one of them does anything hardware related,

[nil_esh]

I have a computer engineering degree. It was a very balanced mix of hardware and software (partially due to my college's course requirements and my course selection), kinda a mix between EE and CIS. Designing digital hardware is a lot like writing low-level software. Look at stuff like VHDL, Verilog, assembly language, digital logic, digital design, etc. Designing the analog portions of hardware is not this way, though.

In my experience, trying to get an actual "computer engineering" job (ie hardware, digital design, etc) with only a B.S. is very difficult, I had to settle for a software job. All of these jobs, both hardware and software, are being outsourced to other countries (India).

Fortunately for me, I like all areas of computing, and I can be happy doing anything, whether it be software, hardware, or adminning. I'm planning on doing a master's degree at some point, but I'm putting that off because I'm not sure exactly what I want to do. If you really want to get a computer engineering job, you should plan to get a master's degree, or at least get some experience before you graduate (internships and co-ops).

So you have to ask yourself some questions. Are you experienced in programming? Do you enjoy programming? Do you have a passion for computers? Is there any areas that you are weak in or don't enjoy? Are you willing to keep learning through the course of your career? Do you have any skills you can fall back on in case a computer career does not work out?

If you want a engineering career where you don't have to learn anything new throughout the course of your career (this is a good thing), do civil or mechanical engineering. My dad is a civil engineer, and is now almost 60 years old, and there is no shortage of work for him (in fact there is too much work). And he hasn't had to keep learning new technologies like us in the computer field. The techniques pretty much stayed the same, he just got really really good at it. You'll probably have to take a statics (and/or dynamics) class as a requirement, if you like that stuff, consider these degrees.

In any case, I love computers, too. Getting a computer engineering degree was fun, but it was also easy. Keep in mind that you are going to have some serious competition (some of which will work for a fraction of the pay you work for). If you are not already good at it, you may want to look into other options. But if you're already passionate about it, go for it. Enjoying the work you do is a very good thing. I just hope for our sake that the job market picks up. There's no telling at this point.