If i want to work in semiconductors...

[Remedy]

Please keep this thread going.

 

[darthsidious]

So Acanthus, are you going in as a junior? have yuo decieded what classess you want to take/ areas to specialize in.

P.S. Forgive me for seeming like an idiot, but what is PSU (Penn State?)

 

[thereaderrabbit]

Hey, I started college in Erie too! I also obtained two degrees from Penn State over the years- a BS and a Ph.D. Right now I'm working for a major semiconductor firm that I can't name, but begins with an I and ends with a M.

My advice for you is to do well in your classes, transfer to main campus ASAP, do semiconductor related lab work if any professors will take you on, and find a COOP or do one before starting your Masters. Also, be sure to have fun. Main campus is a blast! Get involved with some sports and be sure to get out a little bit. It's important to be someone who is fun to be around because it's something they think about when they interview.

-Reader

PS. My first labwork was unpaid. I said I'd work for free for the chance to work on something interesting. This made a great impression and got me to a paid position a semester later.

 

[thereaderrabbit]

It looks like a few people already called you out on the ranking of the EE and Comp. Eng. program at PSU.

I do feel that the place where you get an EE degree ain't all that important, but it's the experience you obtain along the way (see my post above). In the case of a Chem. Eng. degree or Mat. Sci. degree the school you go to is VERY important (connections, funding and travel opportunities). Penn State has a top 20 Chem. Eng. program and a top 10 Mat. Sci. program. I have degrees from both programs, and would recommend the Mat. Sci. program for graduate or semiconductor labwork. Based on your interests I'd Say Dr. Pantano would be a good person to start with ( http://www.matse.psu.edu/fac/profiles/pantano.htm ). Best of luck : )

-Reader

FYI- I'm a polymer physicist, but both work with and follow the semiconductor field

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: jiggahertz

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Originally posted by: Special K
I work at one of the big CPU companies, although I have just begun my career. Here is my advice:

1. The actual degree you receive is not particularly important, although most will have either EE or CompE. What is important is the classes you take. Most EE and CompE programs feature or allow a great deal of overlap in the courses you can take, depending on how you choose your electives. If you want to go into semiconductor design, you should definitely take any classes related to computer architecture, VLSI design, logic design, and semiconductor device physics. Some people also take analog IC design, as we do have an analog group who works on those types of circuits.

2. I know most people say "your degree/school doesn't mean jack", however in my case it did. My company has a list of 10 schools that it does its preferred recruting from. That's not to say that it will be impossible to get in without a degree from one of these schools, but it is a lot easier to network when the company attends your school's career fair 😉 My undergrad school was not ranked particularly high for engineering, and none of the big semi companies came to our career fair. I later went to a top 10 EE school for grad school, and all of the semi companies were there recruiting. I interviewed with all of the big ones. So to summarize - your degree may not be the absolute deciding factor, but in my case it made a huge difference in being noticed by these companies.

3. If you decide to go to grad school for engineering, make sure you are getting paid to do it.

Great post, thanks for the info.

PSU is ranked in the top 10 for both EE and CompE last i checked.

I do plan on taking as many architecture courses as possible, even if i have to delay graduation to do so.

One thing i noticed, however, is that PSUs graduate program is just MA-Computer Science... Is it pretty much the same situation for the masters degree, just take the courses that pertain to where you want to work?

Apparently literally all computer science and computer engineering tracks are lumped under the same graduate degree at PSU.

Edit: paid to do it? As in pick up a job with the BS and get the employer to pay for the grad school?

Edit2: clarity

More like 20-25.

Yeah, I was going to comment on that as well. I don't think they are top 10, and I know they aren't among the schools we actively recruit from.

Again, that's not to say you don't have a chance, but like I said earlier, it's much easier to network when the company comes to your school.

LoL. I can pretty much list 10 schools that will trump PSU anyday.. let's try. MIT, StanFUrd, Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, U$C, GeorgiaTech, CMU, Cornell, Purdue, UIUC, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, Washington.

But really, does it matter? If you do well, your nice GPA will make up anyday. Sure companies recruit, but hey.... go straight to them if they don't come to you.

Edit: I believe in going the EE route.

 

[franksta]

Depends on what part of the semiconductors you want to work with. I'm in process development (thin films, lithography, etching, etc.) and studied Electrical Engineering. You can do the same work with a degree in mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, or physics. If you want to do something more along the lines of micrprocessor design definitely go with EE and try to steer your coursework towards it.

 

[Special K]

Originally posted by: DLeRium

Originally posted by: Special K

Originally posted by: jiggahertz

Originally posted by: Acanthus

Originally posted by: Special K
I work at one of the big CPU companies, although I have just begun my career. Here is my advice:

1. The actual degree you receive is not particularly important, although most will have either EE or CompE. What is important is the classes you take. Most EE and CompE programs feature or allow a great deal of overlap in the courses you can take, depending on how you choose your electives. If you want to go into semiconductor design, you should definitely take any classes related to computer architecture, VLSI design, logic design, and semiconductor device physics. Some people also take analog IC design, as we do have an analog group who works on those types of circuits.

2. I know most people say "your degree/school doesn't mean jack", however in my case it did. My company has a list of 10 schools that it does its preferred recruting from. That's not to say that it will be impossible to get in without a degree from one of these schools, but it is a lot easier to network when the company attends your school's career fair 😉 My undergrad school was not ranked particularly high for engineering, and none of the big semi companies came to our career fair. I later went to a top 10 EE school for grad school, and all of the semi companies were there recruiting. I interviewed with all of the big ones. So to summarize - your degree may not be the absolute deciding factor, but in my case it made a huge difference in being noticed by these companies.

3. If you decide to go to grad school for engineering, make sure you are getting paid to do it.

Great post, thanks for the info.

PSU is ranked in the top 10 for both EE and CompE last i checked.

I do plan on taking as many architecture courses as possible, even if i have to delay graduation to do so.

One thing i noticed, however, is that PSUs graduate program is just MA-Computer Science... Is it pretty much the same situation for the masters degree, just take the courses that pertain to where you want to work?

Apparently literally all computer science and computer engineering tracks are lumped under the same graduate degree at PSU.

Edit: paid to do it? As in pick up a job with the BS and get the employer to pay for the grad school?

Edit2: clarity

More like 20-25.

Yeah, I was going to comment on that as well. I don't think they are top 10, and I know they aren't among the schools we actively recruit from.

Again, that's not to say you don't have a chance, but like I said earlier, it's much easier to network when the company comes to your school.

LoL. I can pretty much list 10 schools that will trump PSU anyday.. let's try. MIT, StanFUrd, Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, U$C, GeorgiaTech, CMU, Cornell, Purdue, UIUC, Michigan, Wisconsin, Texas, Washington.

But really, does it matter? If you do well, your nice GPA will make up anyday. Sure companies recruit, but hey.... go straight to them if they don't come to you.

Edit: I believe in going the EE route.

Like I said in my earlier post, I believe it does matter. I had what I believe to be a good GPA (3.7ish) in EE from a school that was at the time ranked in the 40s according to USN&W. Because none of the major semiconductor companies came to my school's career fair, my only recourse was to submit a resume on their website. I guess if you have a relative who works with the company then that is different, but that is not the default scenario. I actually did get a couple of interviews through this route, but they were for test/debug positions, and I wanted to do design. Because of this, I decided to go to grad school at a top 10 school I knew all of the companies I was interested in actively recruited from. I also secured a TA position, so all of this was paid for by the school.

After taking a few grad courses related to CPU design, I could immediately tell that the difference in rankings between this school's CPU design track and my undergrad school's CPU design track were entirely justified. The courses I took at this school were much more in-depth and difficult than the similar ones I took as an undergrad, even though both were listed as grad classes in their respective departments. I believe the companies are aware of the difficulty of these programs, which is one reason why they actively recruit from these schools.

In addition, one of the major CPU companies sponsored a design contest in my advanced VLSI design class. This eventually led to some exclusive networking opportunities in which I was able to meet people from many different groups of the company, and these eventually led to job interviews. Because these types of sponsorships only seem to occur at the top schools, I think the school you attend does make a difference.

My disclaimer is that I just started my career, and the above is merely my opinion based on my experiences in school. My views may change as my career progresses.

 

[hypn0tik]

Definitely EE. You can get into Electronics or Photonics and either field has a ton of work with semiconductors.

 

[Acanthus]

I will be going in as a junior, however, it will probably take me a 5th year to complete my BS at PSU regardless of 2nd major or minors.

I did terribly in high school (long story, parents were divorced and i just didnt care... etc) so i started off with a huge deficit in science and math, and no AP courses.

At the school im currently attending i played "catch up" and got my GPA very high for the PSU transfer.

My opporunities im looking at are:

BA Physics from Edinboro and BS EE from PSU through a 3/2 co-op program.

or

Transfer to PSU and get BS EE, AS MaterialsE, and Minor in Nanotechnology in about the same 5 years.

And i understand about the "top10" mentality, but cost is a factor unless i can pick up huge waivers/scholarships to make up for the enormous cost.

PSU is 11k/yr with 4k/yr assistance from PHEEA alone. CMU is over 3x that.

My current GPA is a 3.78 and i take 18-21 credit hours a semester.

 

[sciencewhiz]

In the 2004 US News & World Report undergraduate engineering rankings, PSU was 16th for best engineering programs (and ahead of UCLA, UCSD, and USC, from DLeRium's list). PSU was 4th in Nuclear and Industrial Engineering specialties.

In the 2006 US News & World Report graduate engineering rankings, PSU was 19th for the best engineering programs. They were 3rd in Industrial engineering.

They certainly aren't a top 10 engineering school, but they aren't horrible either.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
In the 2004 US News & World Report undergraduate engineering rankings, PSU was 16th for best engineering programs (and ahead of UCLA, UCSD, and USC, from DLeRium's list). PSU was 4th in Nuclear and Industrial Engineering specialties.

In the 2006 US News & World Report graduate engineering rankings, PSU was 19th for the best engineering programs. They were 3rd in Industrial engineering.

They certainly aren't a top 10 engineering school, but they aren't horrible either.

You didnt mention CompE or EE...

Also, as of fall of this year PSU has moved all compE and EE to the behrend campus, which is a state of the art brand new facility. They have also eliminated professors and consolidated staff on the behrend campus to streamline the program instead of spreading it over the 9 other campuses that were offering the programs. I didnt really want to discuss that here, but since its been posted about in the last 5 or so posts... :brokenheart: