Computer Engineering (college student)

[AzuthZero]

Hello all. I'm currently a freshman in college currently enrolled in a computer engineering program. Since I'm only a freshman, I was wondering if you guys could help me out with a few questions I have.

First off, how is the job market? I always hear about how easy it is to get a job in the computer industry, but I figured I'd ask some real world people and see what they think...

Second, anything you can reccommend to make it easier for me to find a decent paying job later? I have 3 years of schooling left to get my BS, and I was wondering if certain minors or possible double majors would help. I was originally enrolled in the physics program, then I switched to Computer Engineering with the intent of gettign a physics minor. Should I go for the major instead of the minor, or won't it help much?

Also, how important are internships and such? Should I be looking for these soon?

I know my advisors have "answers" to these questions, but sometimes they don't tell yuo everything. I want to know how it is in the real world, and I want to start planning early to make sure my future looks good. If I have to, I will work my ass of to ensure myself a good future.

Any advice or input is much appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Howard]

My brother has a degree in CE, currently working for IBM. I'll try to answer any questions you might have.

 

[MrDudeMan]

im a double major in CE and physics. seems like a good idea to me, but mostly i enjoy both fields so i chose to do the double major instead of major/minor.

 

[AzuthZero]

Sweet, I was hoping to find a job at a place like IBM.

First off, what did his resume look like? Did he take anything extra, double major, any specific minors, anything like that?

Did he have experience before getting hired there?

Also, around how much does it pay? My advisors keep showing me graphs that with a BS degree, the average engineer make around $50k a year, more with a masters or doctorate. i always take these things with a grain of salt though, because I'm not sure how real world they are.

Any particular advice you could give me would be GREATLY appreciated.

 

[Cattlegod]

I have a degreen in Computer Engineering. I work for Ford in Program Management launching new vehicles... Start looking for internships right now, get one this summer.

 

[AzuthZero]

I'm not sure if I can get an internship this summer, mainly because I need AT LEAST one job just to be able to afford college. I'll probably end up working two jobs if I can to make enough money for next year, and hopefully the year after. Then after that I *hopefully* have 2 summers before I graduate to get internships and some experience.

I have an RA position lined up for the year after next so college costs will be greatly reduced. If only it weren't so damn expensive, lol.

Thanks for the responses so far, and keep the advice coming. ^_^

 

[chiwawa626]

Take all the real-world experiance you can get in the form of intern/extern/coops and real jobs.

About minors, I am wondering the same thing, howmuch does it help to have a related minor on ones resume?

 

[Howard]

I don't remember much about his resume except that it was two pages.

I think he only majored in CE.

He worked at a travel agency, a computer shop, and possibly a few other minor jobs that I can't recall at the moment.

He gets paid a bit over 60K CDN per year before taxes. He's worked at IBM for about 2-3 years (fuzzy memory).

I'll ask about details when I can.

 

[Semidevil]

Im not a ce major, but with all engineering majors, and all majors in general, I can't emphasize enough the importance of internships, co-ops, experience. Even though it is your first year, start looking at internships if they are available. As hard the job market can be, experience will put your resume on top.

In fact, I reccommend doing as much as possible in your early years, for when you get to the harder classes, and if your grades suffer a bit from too much partying, you will have lots less chance.

As for minor, or double major....if you want to work strictly in "computers" then maybe get a computer science major/minor. always helps.

Also, you are right that advisors dont tell you everything. That's why you should ask professors. This will kill 3 birds in one stone:

1) it will show them you are serious about your major, and they will help you and maybe be nice to you during exams periods..

2) good way to get letters of reccomendation if you want to pursue graduate work later

3) if they know of a company, they can point you in the right direction.

most prof's worked in the industry before, so they have direct contacts...

 

[zoiks]

I did my BS in CE but finally decided to get into software instead. Right now I work at a Software Engineer at Computer Associates but will be moving on to a startup in the Bay Area.
The truth of the matter is that in the real world it really does not make a whole lot of difference of what you major in or minor in. All what counts is your exposure and knowledge in different facets of technology. For example, If I go looking for a job in the bay area in the software industry, 90% of the companies would like people well versed in EJB's, server side technologies and web services. All of this goes hand in hand with database integration so you will need to be fluent in SQL and XML and be good at writing DTD's and what not. Of course the above also means that you need to be good at Java and ANT scripting. So build experience is also necessary.

What I'm getting at is that use your time wisely and indulge yourself in bleeding edge technologies be it in Software or Hardware. The first one around the corner who seems credible enough is surely to win the race.

Oh yah. In agreement to the above poster, do get involved in CO-OPS and internships even if it means you work for free. Trust me, a little experience goes a long way. It means that your expertise will be considered over another candidate with minimal qualifications.

 

[walla]

From my experience in CE (graduate student going for Masters), I would say physics is not all that important to CE. I mean, there are certain applications of physics that relate to certain applications of engineering (such as understanding device physics)...a general understanding is certainly useful.

But still, I think one would do better with a Computer science and/or Electrical engineering minors or dual/double majors. I find myself writing a lot of code, as well as needing a strong grasp on analog circuits...

But I've yet to set foot outside the world of academics...so take this advice as you will

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

def try to get any kind of internship in your field you can. mine pays better than any other job i could have had and i'm only a soph.

join clubs/community service groups for ee/compe etc. most colleges have engineering organizations and they really help in interviews

look into getting an internship that works around your school schedule for next fall. depending how hard your school is, you might find time to fit in part time work in the evening.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
Take all the real-world experiance you can get in the form of intern/extern/coops and real jobs.

So, in other words go for coop. It's the most experience you can get in college (start early), and you've almost always got a job once you graduate unless you were lazy where you cooped.

Start my CS coop this summer.

 

[ChinamanatNCSU]

1) I'd say that if I can find a job, then the job markets pretty good. I had about half a dozen interviews through my career center, while my roommate who's way smarter and has a much better resume got at least a dozen and got to fly out to multiple companies for second rounds.

2) yep, definitely get an intership/co-op. It's almost always a question you get asked during interviews. Companies like seeing real world experience. As for minors and double majors, a double major in a relevant field that a company might need definitely helps. I was a double major in computer and electrical engineering, so that looked good since I could claim that I am learned in both software and hardware sides. However, I also had a minor in economics, which didn'y help me at all. Interviewers always asked me about my double major, but I don't think a single one asked about my minor. So, I say if you're going to get anything, get something relevant or it's a complete waste of time.

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: AzuthZero
Hello all. I'm currently a freshman in college currently enrolled in a computer engineering program. Since I'm only a freshman, I was wondering if you guys could help me out with a few questions I have.

First off, how is the job market? I always hear about how easy it is to get a job in the computer industry, but I figured I'd ask some real world people and see what they think...

Second, anything you can reccommend to make it easier for me to find a decent paying job later? I have 3 years of schooling left to get my BS, and I was wondering if certain minors or possible double majors would help. I was originally enrolled in the physics program, then I switched to Computer Engineering with the intent of gettign a physics minor. Should I go for the major instead of the minor, or won't it help much?

Also, how important are internships and such? Should I be looking for these soon?

I know my advisors have "answers" to these questions, but sometimes they don't tell yuo everything. I want to know how it is in the real world, and I want to start planning early to make sure my future looks good. If I have to, I will work my ass of to ensure myself a good future.

Any advice or input is much appreciated.
Thanks

I am not equipped to fully answer your first question, but the job market seems to be fine (I've only searched for coops so far, no "real" jobs yet). Personally I'm not worried about outsourcing or anything like that. There has been a big slump in CS/CE/EE enrollements over the last few years, so it seems like its only going to get better (a lot of people got scared off by the tech bust, and now there are a lot less poseurs).

Your second question though...interships/co-ops should be at the top of your priority list. After graduation, neither a minor nor high marks will help you as much as real world experience, so here are my tips:
-try to get a relevant, part time job. Engineering is tough, but you can set aside ~10hrs/week.
-try working for a prof over the summer...you'll make some money and the experience is good
-try joining some campus engineering club where you get good experience. If you go to a larger school, it shoudl have a solar car club, several rotobtics clubs, and perhaps some softwre dev clubs (they had a group writing a textbook exchange site here).
-try starting your own FOSS project..or joining one that interests you.
-get at least average marks....or slightly above average.

All these will help you get internships, or if you're unlucky enough not to find anything during your school years, they'll help you afterwards as well. The idea is to set your self apart..showcase yourself, give you something to talk about in interviews and make them remember you. Whatever you do, try to choose something you're at least somewhat passionate about - it'll seem less like work and more like a hobby.

 

[AzuthZero]

Wow, thanks for all the great advice guys. My school doesn't let you major in both computer engineering and computer science, so I'll probably just major in CE and take every computer course I can in my elective slots, since it seems I need to be familiar with quite a bit of computer languages.

One last question. Where is a good place to find internships and such? I really don't have any CE classes this semester since I originally was majoring in physics (at least I got just about all the maths and physics out of the way), so i don't have any profs to talk to yet. I'll have a bunch to talk to next year since all I'll be taking are CE classes pretty much, but that doesn't help me out for looking this summer.

Once again, thanks a ton.

PS. Howard, any details you could get me about your brother's IBM job would be greatly appreciated ^_^

 

[Martin]

Originally posted by: AzuthZero
Wow, thanks for all the great advice guys. My school doesn't let you major in both computer engineering and computer science, so I'll probably just major in CE and take every computer course I can in my elective slots, since it seems I need to be familiar with quite a bit of computer languages.

One last question. Where is a good place to find internships and such? I really don't have any CE classes this semester since I originally was majoring in physics (at least I got just about all the maths and physics out of the way), so i don't have any profs to talk to yet. I'll have a bunch to talk to next year since all I'll be taking are CE classes pretty much, but that doesn't help me out for looking this summer.

Once again, thanks a ton.

PS. Howard, any details you could get me about your brother's IBM job would be greatly appreciated ^_^

Doesn't your school have a co-op office/program? If it does, start there (me and a lot of people I know found jobs through our school's program, including 2 friends that will be working at the same place as Howard's brother). If, not then you'll just have to use google, visit the site of companies you know (for example, here is IBM's). It'll be harder, but you won't have to pay a placement fee.

 

[JDMnAR1]

I didn't see this elsewhere in the thread, so thought I would chime in. Even if they aren't required, you might consider taking some classes like communications, etc. Perhaps the biggest complaint that I have encountered in my career is that so many times people with technical degrees don't know how to interact with non-technical people, and that their communications skills are lacking.

 

[nitsuj3580]

Computer Engineering graduate here. Even though I had only a 3ish gpa, I had internships the summers before soph through senior year.

I worked for small computer consulting and engineering firms though, no big wigs. It involved calling A LOT of places though before I landed a job each summer. It was well worth it though. I learned a lot where as my friends at Lockheed and IBM were doing rollouts of Office and Windows all day, I was programming control systems and doing web development. Then for my senior project, I made sure to get the one that involved working with a few Lockheed Martin engineers.

I thought I had a pretty good resume as a result of all that despite my 3ish gpa and got numerous interviews and a few job offers but ended up jumping ship and going into patent law

 

[MetalMat]

I am about to graduate in CE, I have no internships or real life experience. Only thing I have is charisma, wish me luck

 

[Ausm]

My Brother has a PHD in CE and EE and he has worked for IBM,Xerox and Intel. He is currently professor U-Mich and is not having trouble finding a job.


Ausm

 

[Tifababy]

I currently work at the same company as Howard's brother, and I wouldn't work here if I didn't have co-op experience with them while I was in school. If you have to take a semester off school to work as a co-op, definitely do it. It doesn't matter if you graduate in 5 years (heck, that means you have an extra semester of college when you're over 21, so you can go to the bars more). Of my 5 roommates, I was the only one that did a coop and I was the only one to have a job after graduation. All the others took another 3-6 months to find a job. Make sure that your GPA is atleast above 3.0 though, 3.5 prefered.