It's definitely not too late to switch... talk to your tutor in the autumn. Besides, first year Electronics - at least at Durham University where I got my BSc. and MSc. Electronics - was very close to Applied Physics. For the first year there, I attended nearly all of the same lectures as Applied Physics students. Based on my experience at Durham I would think a jump to Applied Physics would fairly easy to make.
That might be true. Though my University has a good repuration for Electrical and Electronic Engineering but not Physics.
I have another question
The course offer electives as follows:
==========
Electronics Engineering with Communications: Future Electronics; Optical Communication Systems; Mobile Communications.
Electronics Engineering with Computer Engineering: Choose three modules from Digital Media and Content Processing; DSP Hardware Architectures; Internet Enabled Engineering Instrumentation and Measurement; Remote Sensing and Global Modelling; Systems Integration.
Electronics Engineering with Robotics: Choose three modules from Advanced Robotics; Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems; Machine Vision & Sensor Technology; Simulation of Operations.
Electronics Engineering with Systems Engineering: Choose three modules from; Automobile Systems, Dynamics & Control; Biomedical Systems Modelling; Control Systems Design; Electrical Power Systems Quality & Economics.
===========
Which do you think offer the best job prospect?
Those are electives which mean they are still under Electrical Electronic Engineering (EEE or Triple E) degrees
Electrical engineering is the engineering of the power devices. Anything not about microelectronics goes to here; Such as transformers, turbines, electric car motors, etc
Electrical engineering is the engineering of the power devices. Anything not about microelectronics goes to here; Such as transformers, turbines, electric car motors, etc
The EE degree is fairly broad, and depending on what you want to do there, may not actually get you anything. The CpE is what you're looking for. AMD and Intel, are very diversified, and don't only design circuits (essentially what chips are), they also go into materials design since they make their own processors. nVidia does not make their own stuff. Different schools offer different types of EE concentrations. For the most part, your undergrad degree won't get you much of anything in Intel or AMD. I know a guy that works for Intel with a masters in comp sci, no engineering specific degree.
Anyway, for the most part, it depends on wha tyou want to do in the company. Picking out a company you know, without knowing anything about the company, or various jobs they offer (instead of outsource) isn't going to get you anywhere with us giving you any advice, or more importantly, a recruiter from those companies.
EE with a concentration on materials and semiconductor design will design physical chips. EE with a concentration on logical circuit design will design the logic that are the functional parts of a chip.
EE with a concentration on power wont get you a job at any of those companies. EE with a concentration on wireless communications may get you a job at Intel. EE with a concentration on solid state physics and storage may get you a job at AMD's flash memory department.
Modern EE is very broad: semiconductor physics, wireless communications, logic design, etc
Anyway, for the most part, it depends on wha tyou want to do in the company. Picking out a company you know, without knowing anything about the company, or various jobs they offer (instead of outsource) isn't going to get you anywhere with us giving you any advice, or more importantly, a recruiter from those companies.
EE with a concentration on materials and semiconductor design will design physical chips. EE with a concentration on logical circuit design will design the logic that are the functional parts of a chip.
EE with a concentration on power wont get you a job at any of those companies. EE with a concentration on wireless communications may get you a job at Intel. EE with a concentration on solid state physics and storage may get you a job at AMD's flash memory department.
Modern EE is very broad: semiconductor physics, wireless communications, logic design, etc
TuxDave
Lifer
- Oct 8, 2002
- 10,571
- 3
- 71
Are you studying in outside the USA? Maybe that's where we have conflicts of definition. In the USA, Electrical Engineering covers....
1) Communications & DSP (Signals, Probability etc...)
2) Computers Architecture (CAD included)
3) Circuits (VLSI,Digital,Analog)
4) Control Theory (Robotics etc...)
5) Device Physics (Fabrication, MEMs, Devices)
6) Power Electronics (Transformers)
A whole wide range of possible focuses.
A lot of the bigger companies have special dorms or apartments for the summer interns and they match you up with a roommate. I believe just about all companies will at least help you locate housing.
Jaime
[/quote]If you're interested in computer architecture, I highly recommend this book (Computer Organization & Design: The Hardware/Software Interface). I have the second edition - I'd suggest getting the second edition if you can find a copy, since in the 3rd edition they removed some appendicies and made them only available online. It's pretty easy to read, and does an excellent job of explaining the basics. It was recommended to me by many members of the forum here when I was in 11th grade, and helped me get [far] ahead of the curve... it's used as the textbook for the junior-level Intro to Computer Architecture course at CMU.[/quote]
Yeah, I used that book junior year at Purdue. Brings back memories of all-nighters spent in the computer lab trying to get pipelined processor to work. Uggh
- May 13, 2003
- 13,704
- 7
- 81
For both the software and hardware side, how much does experience account for? I'm in the Navy right now, and will be looking for a job in tech, but it's incredibly daunting. I don't even know what the tech field is like at this point. Should I be worried about it, or not as much as I am?
Tas.
Tas.
Yeah I am studying in UK
"Electrical Engineering" in USA terms is divided into "Electrical" and "Electronic" here in UK.
Well, Durham University doesn't exactly have a good reputation for electronic engineering, and it all worked out fine by me.
Tough question. I really only have insight into the third one (in my list above), and I have very little insight into the UK job market. But given my outdated knowledge of the UK EE job scene, I would say the likely job prospects are in the order that I listed them in my quote just above this. But really, I don't know enough about how the EE situation is in the UK. I recall of my fellow Electronics graduates the highest percentage went off to do consulting and accounting work - both of which surprised me. Of the others, one is in encryption now and another couple are radio communications and I've lost track of the rest of them.
Personally, experience counts for more than grades or education to me. I take a big picture view when looking at a resume, but relevant experience is usually worth more than education in my personal evaluation. Whether you should worry about it...? I don't know. It depends on what you are doing now and what you want to be doing in the future. If they are a close match, then I don't think I'd worry overly much. If they aren't, then it might pay off in the long run to plan ahead.
EE grads is in high demand right now. 2003 was a very bad year but it perked up again 2004, pretty much anyone who did well can get a job. My group hired two dozen over 12 months.
for those who really want to get into cpu design.... unless you have a phd, you will not be an architect. period. for the designer route, learn the architecture, but also study up on vlsi, layout, digital timing, logic optimization and building systems. also, be fluent in verilog. and learn how to program.
for those who really want to get into cpu design.... unless you have a phd, you will not be an architect. period. for the designer route, learn the architecture, but also study up on vlsi, layout, digital timing, logic optimization and building systems. also, be fluent in verilog. and learn how to program.
I think this mainly depends on how hard you are willing to work. A lot of what PM mentioned above applies. If you have no experience in industry, put down projects and be prepared to talk about them in _great_ detail. I cannot emphasize this enough. There have been so many times I have interviewed candidates and they do not know jack about the compiler they worked on or the microprocessor they implemented. If you have work experience then list it and all the technical things that you did on them. When I am screening candidates I look for meaty resumes with a lot of technical background. Plain and simple, if it is not relevant to the position, axe it. It's great that you got that award back in high school but if it doesn't help you find that bug with DMA transfers on the southbridge LPC bus I'm not interested. Only if you do not have any more information to add then go ahead and append it near the bottom. I also look for candidates who customize their resumes for the position they're applying to. If I am interviewing someone as a kernel developer then emphasize your programming knowledge, don't mention all this analog design experience and have 1 line about your programming knowledge.
Classes matter. If you take hard classes that are extremely relevant to architecture but are difficult, they better reflect on yourself compared to John Doe who has taken nothing relevant but has a much higher GPA. Candidates who have opted to take compiler design, systems architecture, and OS the first chances they get are eligible for positions in industry much sooner then those who leave it until the last minute. You will also learn about modern computer systems faster and your later classes throughout college will be more relevant and meaningful. The Hennessey & Patterson book is a very good book to learn about modern architecture. If you want to learn about x86 specific designs, go download whitepapers. Intel's programming guide is a very good start, although it is a bit daunting. I believe AMD has a series of systems programming manuals as well if you want to get very specific, and might also prove to be a challenge.
Open source projects. If you do not have any experience and want to gain some good experience, try participating in an open source project, but only if you are truly interested in it. Do not participate for the sake of getting something on your resume. Participate because you want to learn more about what that project entails. If you want to truly learn about how the intricacies of a computer operates and interacts with software, download the linux kernel. This is a treasure trove of information if you can trudge through it and find the things you are looking for.
Interviews. Be confident period. As PM said above, if you've got a job lined up already and are still interviewing around with other companies then you're in a very fortunate position. You've got nothing to lose. The way I've interviewed has stressed technical knowledge but I have not held that against people if they do not know the nitty gritty. If they know where to reference the spec and can explain to me in a decent amount of detail how to solve a problem then that is key. What I am looking for are analytical skills that candidates possess. If you've worked on OpenGL and list it on your application, be prepared to talk about the concepts of it and some of the projects and challenges your were faced with. I am _NOT_ expecting you to give me the specific function call that draws circles. The same thing goes with anything else because in industry you end up referencing specs all the time because it is not expected of you to memorize everything under the sun. Very rarely will you use everything you've learned in college and apply it to your job.
Contacts. If you know a friend of a friend then that helps tremendously. Use contacts to your advantage as much as you can. On top of that the only thing I can say is be passionate about what you do. If you are extremely motivated and love what you have learned then it will show up in the interview and that is the type of candidate all companies are looking for.
Classes matter. If you take hard classes that are extremely relevant to architecture but are difficult, they better reflect on yourself compared to John Doe who has taken nothing relevant but has a much higher GPA. Candidates who have opted to take compiler design, systems architecture, and OS the first chances they get are eligible for positions in industry much sooner then those who leave it until the last minute. You will also learn about modern computer systems faster and your later classes throughout college will be more relevant and meaningful. The Hennessey & Patterson book is a very good book to learn about modern architecture. If you want to learn about x86 specific designs, go download whitepapers. Intel's programming guide is a very good start, although it is a bit daunting. I believe AMD has a series of systems programming manuals as well if you want to get very specific, and might also prove to be a challenge.
Open source projects. If you do not have any experience and want to gain some good experience, try participating in an open source project, but only if you are truly interested in it. Do not participate for the sake of getting something on your resume. Participate because you want to learn more about what that project entails. If you want to truly learn about how the intricacies of a computer operates and interacts with software, download the linux kernel. This is a treasure trove of information if you can trudge through it and find the things you are looking for.
Interviews. Be confident period. As PM said above, if you've got a job lined up already and are still interviewing around with other companies then you're in a very fortunate position. You've got nothing to lose. The way I've interviewed has stressed technical knowledge but I have not held that against people if they do not know the nitty gritty. If they know where to reference the spec and can explain to me in a decent amount of detail how to solve a problem then that is key. What I am looking for are analytical skills that candidates possess. If you've worked on OpenGL and list it on your application, be prepared to talk about the concepts of it and some of the projects and challenges your were faced with. I am _NOT_ expecting you to give me the specific function call that draws circles. The same thing goes with anything else because in industry you end up referencing specs all the time because it is not expected of you to memorize everything under the sun. Very rarely will you use everything you've learned in college and apply it to your job.
Contacts. If you know a friend of a friend then that helps tremendously. Use contacts to your advantage as much as you can. On top of that the only thing I can say is be passionate about what you do. If you are extremely motivated and love what you have learned then it will show up in the interview and that is the type of candidate all companies are looking for.
1) Communications & DSP (Signals, Probability etc...)
2) Computers Architecture (CAD included)
3) Circuits (VLSI,Digital,Analog)
4) Control Theory (Robotics etc...)
5) Device Physics (Fabrication, MEMs, Devices)
6) Power Electronics (Transformers)
I would add electromagnetics and Radar system to the above list.
I don't know why in many countries(outside USA) they divide the field into elctrical and electronics.
It is all to do with motion of electrons and simply call it electrical.
But watch out photons are replcing electrons in communication area and optical computing.
All long distance terrestrial communication signals are through optics (not electronics any more)
So some EE departments offer courses in optical communications, optical signal processing. optical computing..
Like it is said before EE covers many areas.
2) Computers Architecture (CAD included)
3) Circuits (VLSI,Digital,Analog)
4) Control Theory (Robotics etc...)
5) Device Physics (Fabrication, MEMs, Devices)
6) Power Electronics (Transformers)
I would add electromagnetics and Radar system to the above list.
I don't know why in many countries(outside USA) they divide the field into elctrical and electronics.
It is all to do with motion of electrons and simply call it electrical.
But watch out photons are replcing electrons in communication area and optical computing.
All long distance terrestrial communication signals are through optics (not electronics any more)
So some EE departments offer courses in optical communications, optical signal processing. optical computing..
Like it is said before EE covers many areas.
Just to add some more info.
NVIDIA
http://www.nvidia.com/page/university_relations.html
AMD
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/Careers/0,,51_82_621,00.html
IBM
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://
http://www-306.ibm.com/employment/us/un_university.shtml">http://www-306.ibm.com/employment/us/un_university.shtml</a>
NVIDIA
http://www.nvidia.com/page/university_relations.html
AMD
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Corporate/Careers/0,,51_82_621,00.html
IBM
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://
http://www-306.ibm.com/employment/us/un_university.shtml">http://www-306.ibm.com/employment/us/un_university.shtml</a>
Yep sorry about that...
I just got "Principles of CMOS VLSI Design" yesterday in the mail. I was flipping though it last night and it looks kinda tuff for not having any circuit classes. I'll try to read though the whole thing this summer and maybe i can learn a thing or two before i get in my circuit classes this fall.
I just got "Principles of CMOS VLSI Design" yesterday in the mail. I was flipping though it last night and it looks kinda tuff for not having any circuit classes. I'll try to read though the whole thing this summer and maybe i can learn a thing or two before i get in my circuit classes this fall.
I just applied in Intel, AMD, ATI and Nvidia. Thanks for the links although I expect none of them to follow up. I have the worst record for applying so far
Just a couple more tips. Remember that MANY jobs are filled through networking. Knowing people at the company is probably more important than what is on your resume. That is why interns do so well. See if you can find someone at school that will be working for one of your dream companies. Keep in touch with them.
I worked in the field for many years. I will tell you that R&D jobs carry with them plenty of long hours and can be highly stressful. These are jobs that really never end but still have deadlines. You can also get pegged into a slot and become very focused on a small piece of the pie. If the project is cancelled and your job is only on that project, you will be looking for work again.
If you do land a job make sure of a few things. Continue with schooling. Make sure to have two or three ways to grow in the job. Finally, if you find someone that is very good at the job, ask him/her to teach you!
Large companies are no longer a long term investment of your part. The name may have a cachet, but it does not mean a lifelong career.
Good luck!
I worked in the field for many years. I will tell you that R&D jobs carry with them plenty of long hours and can be highly stressful. These are jobs that really never end but still have deadlines. You can also get pegged into a slot and become very focused on a small piece of the pie. If the project is cancelled and your job is only on that project, you will be looking for work again.
If you do land a job make sure of a few things. Continue with schooling. Make sure to have two or three ways to grow in the job. Finally, if you find someone that is very good at the job, ask him/her to teach you!
Large companies are no longer a long term investment of your part. The name may have a cachet, but it does not mean a lifelong career.
Good luck!
Hi, i was just reading this topic and found it very helpful. I am currently in my senoir year at university of michigan and getting a BSE in computer engineering. I am currently working on my resume, but i am having trouble with the objective statement. I am currently taking major design courses in singal processing, embedded control systems, and computer arch. I am having a hard time incorporating all three branches in one statement. So if anyone has examples or if any of the managers that post here could shed some light on what they look for in an objective statement
Thanks for the help
Thanks for the help
My advice on objective statements is to just put something that says (indirectly) that you want the job that you are applying for. Something simple and to the point.
So if you are applying to Intel to do VLSI Design on CPUs, put something like "Objective: to utilize my skills in circuit and logic design to help implement the next generation microprocessor designs" or something like that. If you are applying to ATI to do GPUs add "graphics processor" instead of "microprocessor". That's my opinion as a person who screens a lot of resumes. No one pays a lot of attention to the objective statement anyway unless it's seems remote from the position being applied for ("Objective: to raise llamas for backpacking and creating woolen sweaters"). I skim through them most times. I personally wouldn't advise spending a lot of thought on the objective.
Incidently, my group in Fort Collins is hiring for EE positions in CPU design. If anyone on Anandtech is looking for a position in CPU design, mixed signal, validation, mask design or silicon debug, is ready to work right now, is willing to relocate to Fort Collins, CO, and is a US citizen (or has a visa to work in the US), feel free to email me a resume (email in my profile) and/or apply at http://www.intel.com/jobs and choose Fort Collins from the drop-down boxes. We are hiring both for experienced engineers, and recent college graduates. You can see the positions in more detail by doing a search at the website above for "United States, Fort Collins, CO" and choosing "engineering".
So if you are applying to Intel to do VLSI Design on CPUs, put something like "Objective: to utilize my skills in circuit and logic design to help implement the next generation microprocessor designs" or something like that. If you are applying to ATI to do GPUs add "graphics processor" instead of "microprocessor". That's my opinion as a person who screens a lot of resumes. No one pays a lot of attention to the objective statement anyway unless it's seems remote from the position being applied for ("Objective: to raise llamas for backpacking and creating woolen sweaters"). I skim through them most times. I personally wouldn't advise spending a lot of thought on the objective.
Incidently, my group in Fort Collins is hiring for EE positions in CPU design. If anyone on Anandtech is looking for a position in CPU design, mixed signal, validation, mask design or silicon debug, is ready to work right now, is willing to relocate to Fort Collins, CO, and is a US citizen (or has a visa to work in the US), feel free to email me a resume (email in my profile) and/or apply at http://www.intel.com/jobs and choose Fort Collins from the drop-down boxes. We are hiring both for experienced engineers, and recent college graduates. You can see the positions in more detail by doing a search at the website above for "United States, Fort Collins, CO" and choosing "engineering".
Thanks for the reply pm i ll def keep that in mind while i am writing my resume. Out of curiosity, do you guys take into consideration toughness of a school's curriculum when you look at gpa. I cant speak for all schools, but i feel that michigan has a pretty tough computer/electircal eningeering program.
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