Computer Hardware Engineers?

[Skiguy411]

I have come to a point in my life where I need start deciding what I want to do. I believe I have gotten it down to a computer hardware engineer.

Can any computer hardware engineers tell me about their typical day and what you think of your job. Would you recommend getting into this field? If not, please let me know a good field to get into.

 

[Passions]

Computer Hardware Engineer = PC Technician?

 

[KillyKillall]

8:00 - Wake Up
8:10 - Check Email
8:20 - Shower
8:40 - Play Doom 3
12:00 - Eat
12:10 - Play Doom 3
5:00 - Open software programs to pretend to be working
5:05 - Welcome wife home from hard day of work
5:10 - Eat Pizza that was brought home
5:30 - Play Doom 3 with Wife
10:00 - Go to sleep

 

[csyberblue]

Originally posted by: Skiguy411
I have come to a point in my life where I need start deciding what I want to do. I believe I have gotten it down to a computer hardware engineer.

Can any computer hardware engineers tell me about their typical day and what you think of your job. Would you recommend getting into this field? If not, please let me know a good field to get into.

maybe you mean a computer engineer? which is a branch of electrical engineering, where you take a larger focus on computer science and computer architecture than most EE's.

 

[csyberblue]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall
8:00 - Wake Up
8:10 - Check Email
8:20 - Shower
8:40 - Play Doom 3
12:00 - Eat
12:10 - Play Doom 3
5:00 - Open software programs to pretend to be working
5:05 - Welcome wife home from hard day of work
5:10 - Eat Pizza that was brought home
5:30 - Play Doom 3 with Wife
10:00 - Go to sleep

lol, sounds like Office Space

 

[blahblah99]

You'd probably spend the majority of your time at work on the computer or in the lab.

On computer, you'd do a lot of conceptual design and simulations, while in the lab you'd be doing a lot of troubleshooting and verification.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall
8:00 - Wake Up
8:10 - Check Email
8:20 - Shower
8:40 - Play Doom 3
12:00 - Eat
12:10 - Play Doom 3
5:00 - Open software programs to pretend to be working
5:05 - Welcome wife home from hard day of work
5:10 - Eat Pizza that was brought home
5:30 - Play Doom 3 with Wife
10:00 - Go to sleep

you must have awesome wife

 

[Achtung]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall
8:00 - Wake Up
8:10 - Check Email
8:20 - Shower
8:40 - Play Doom 3
12:00 - Eat
12:10 - Play Doom 3
5:00 - Open software programs to pretend to be working
5:05 - Welcome wife home from hard day of work
5:10 - Eat Pizza that was brought home
5:30 - Play Doom 3 with Wife
10:00 - Go to sleep

10 hours of sleep? Nice...

 

[Skiguy411]

Originally posted by: KillyKillall
8:00 - Wake Up
8:10 - Check Email
8:20 - Shower
8:40 - Play Doom 3
12:00 - Eat
12:10 - Play Doom 3
5:00 - Open software programs to pretend to be working
5:05 - Welcome wife home from hard day of work
5:10 - Eat Pizza that was brought home
5:30 - Play Doom 3 with Wife
10:00 - Go to sleep

wow, where do you work if you dont mind me asking?

 

[Skiguy411]

This is what I mean when I say computer hardware engineering

 

[Imdmn04]

I take it that you are still in high school, or just entering college and haven't decided on your major yet.

Let me give you a word of advice, just because you have built yourself a killer gaming system and everybody calls you for their computer problems, doesn't mean you will make a great computer engineer.

Computer engineers doesn't build computers by plugging in pci cards onto a mobo, thats what a pc techinican does at your local Best Buy. Comp engineers solves differnential equations, write assembly codes, and mess around with circuits til their head hurts. Computer Engineering is one of the most difficult engineering majors alonside EE, Chem E, etc. If you think you got what it takes, then by all means go for it, but let me remind you, it is not a walk in the park just because you think you are a computer savvy user. Be prepared with loads of math and physics.

 

[blahblah99]

Originally posted by: Imdmn04
I take it that you are still in high school, or just entering college and haven't decided on your major yet.

Let me give you a word of advice, just because you have built yourself a killer gaming system and everybody calls you for their computer problems, doesn't mean you will make a great computer engineer.

Computer engineers doesn't build computers by plugging in pci cards onto a mobo, thats what a pc techinican does at your local Best Buy. Comp engineers solves differnential equations, write assembly codes, and mess around with circuits til their head hurts. Computer Engineering is one of the most difficult engineering majors alonside EE, Chem E, etc. If you think you got what it takes, then by all means go for it, but let me remind you, it is not a walk in the park just because you think you are a computer savvy user. Be prepared with loads of math and physics.

That's pretty much the fact of the matter... although math may not be too involved.


As an EE, I can tell you designing PC hardware isn't an easy task. You have to deal with timing analysis, signal integrity, EMI & EMC, transmission lines, timing analysis, PCB layout on multiple layers (anywhere from 4 layers to 8 or more), programming on the PC side (writing drivers), programming on the PCI card, and depending on what the card does, could be embedded firmware and/or VHDL/Verilog. Not only that, you have to also be able to clearly communicate with the firmware engineers as hardware and firmware go hand in hand.

It takes a lot of skills in different areas to be a hardware engineer, unless you're confined to solely writing code, or doing pcb layout.

But in a nutshell, see my response above.

 

[Skiguy411]

Thanks guys.

Do know of any career paths for a guy that likes building/troublshooting computers and working with his hands?