Any computer engineers around?

[polarmystery]

Hey guys,

I am planning on going back to school this fall to get my Masters in Electrical & Computer Engineering (I already have a B.S. in Electrical Engineering) and was wondering how the course load is like and how what you think about the degree in general. Thoughts appreciated. For reference, I've been out of school for 4 years but most of the fundamentals of engineering are still fresh.

 

[Gibson486]

Ummm...kind of a waste of time....the overlap between the two is huge. I'd imagine it would only be something like 4 courses though.

edit....
NM....I thought you meant bachelors....

 

[ussfletcher]

There will be a lot of programming courses, probably should start brushing up on that.

 

[sunzt]

Employeers associate computer engineers with the hardware's software so think work in firmware or embedded systems.

 

[CountZero]

Course loads will differ from school to school. For UW (which is quarters) I was taking 2-3 full on classes and 2-3 seminar type classes (reading/discussing research papers). It was basically like taking less but more difficult classes. The interesting thing for me was how much less hand holding there is in the grad classes. There is an expectation that you are self motivated to get this stuff and will do the proper work outside of class. I don't think any of my EE grad classes had graded homework. On the flip side you are usually being taught by a professor in their area of expertise and they are typically more than happy to talk with you and help you out should you feel lost.

The coursework didn't seem too bad but the projects could be brutal if a couple lined up. I was also working as a RA/TA so that sucked up some time. I did find it much harder to work through to late at night than when I was an undergrad (I returned after ~4 year as well).

And is that one degree? I've never seen CE and EE combined before.

I don't know if you are currently working and just continuing along that line or trying to change careers but if the latter I would think about the kind of work you want to do and take as many classes as you can towards that end. Hook up with a prof from that area and see if they could use some help. Engineering profs are frequently well connected to industry so it is a good contact to have.

 

[MotF Bane]

And is that one degree? I've never seen CE and EE combined before.

Yeah, ECE, I've seen it a few schools, UML and WPI just off the top of my head.

 

[Reel]

Yeah, ECE, I've seen it a few schools, UML and WPI just off the top of my head.

At UF, they have CE degrees in two departments: ECE dept and CS dept. Each is a separate degree with a different emphasis. Both degrees do have some overlap.

 

[PricklyPete]

I got my BS in Computer Engineering...but I have spent my whole professional career in Software Engineering/Development/Implementation.

 

[Reel]

Hey guys,

I am planning on going back to school this fall to get my Masters in Electrical & Computer Engineering (I already have a B.S. in Electrical Engineering) and was wondering how the course load is like and how what you think about the degree in general. Thoughts appreciated. For reference, I've been out of school for 4 years but most of the fundamentals of engineering are still fresh.

From my personal employment and educational experience, I think if you are looking forward to the educational program, then go for it. Your EE background should prepare you adequately for ECE especially if you have some low level coding experience. I would encourage you to participate in research projects to differentiate yourself if you will be looking for a job after getting the new degree.

 

[polarmystery]

From my personal employment and educational experience, I think if you are looking forward to the educational program, then go for it. Your EE background should prepare you adequately for ECE especially if you have some low level coding experience. I would encourage you to participate in research projects to differentiate yourself if you will be looking for a job after getting the new degree.

Yeah I agree. To clarify a few things from above, yes the degree is altogether. It's an M.S.E.C.E. degree. I already have a job as I currently work for a DoD contractor, I'm mainly going back to school to try to transition to a different department (read: to get into the department I wanted to from the beginning but didn't have enough experience for that type of work). I'll probably only take 1 class per semester as 2 might be overkill working full time.

Thanks for all the information thus far guys.

 

[Born2bwire]

It depends on the school and program. Some schools will require that you submit a thesis in addition to the coursework, others will allow you to just do extra coursework and no thesis. UIUC used to offer both but a few years ago went exclusively to requiring you to get a thesis. In addition, as others have mentioned, UIUC has separat CompE and EE bachelors degrees but only ECE graduate degrees (I did my BS in CompE and my MS in ECE). With the thesis, I think I had to do around 4-6 courses, in addition to an equivalent amount of thesis hours. My biggest concern would not be over the coursework but in doing the thesis work, if required, while holding a full time job. That is a lot of work to do and most people that I have heard who have tried such things ended up quitting their job to work full time on their degrees in the end.

 

[soydios]

<-- ECE (Electrical & Computer Engineering) undergrad

ECE at my school is combined EE and CompE basically because there's so many analog circuits that are digitally controlled, and because a digital circuit is just interesting behavior of an analog one.
I'm concentrating in computer architecture, though, which is firmly in the world of ones, zeroes, and power constraints.