What degree/schooling do i need to get into microengineering?

Acanthus

Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
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ostif.org
I want to get into some advanced microengineering, like microchip design for any big company, IBM, Intel, AMD, ATi, NVIDIA, Cisco, Motorola, Samsung, Rambus, SiS. Anything that has to do with the design of very advanced electronics. After researching on the net I haven't found much other than colleges that teach EE and have 1 or 2 classes in advanced microchip engineering. What would be a good school to apply to in order to get where i want to go? I'm willing to go for a masters or even Dr if i have to, ive thought about it long and hard and this is what i want to do.
 

rgwalt

Diamond Member
Apr 22, 2000
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You could also look into chemical engineering as a possibility. We work more on the fabrication than the design side of things though. Check out Arizona or Arizona St. I can't remember which one, but one of the two is a major research arm for Intel. If you really want to get into advanced design, plan on a graduate degree. Best of luck.

Ryan
 

Hankerton

Golden Member
Apr 11, 2003
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It's funny that you live in Pennsylvania cause I go to Drexel University in Philadelphia, and it has one of the best Engineering/Co-op experiencing schools in the country. You can go for 5 years, with three 6-month co-ops(internships that pay) and come out with a masters in Electrical Engineering. However, getting into this requires your full devotion.....I mean it's difficult, takes up ALL of your time, you will have no life......or you will fail out or switch majors. I started out in EE but decided it wasn't the right career path. I wasn't willing to sacrifice my college life for learning the in's and outs of calc, physics, chem, systems, etc. But if you're serious, there are very few better places to go.
 

Hankerton

Golden Member
Apr 11, 2003
1,814
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It's funny that you live in Pennsylvania cause I go to Drexel University in Philadelphia, and it has one of the best Engineering/Co-op experiencing schools in the country. You can go for 5 years, with three 6-month co-ops(internships that pay) and come out with a masters in Electrical Engineering. However, getting into this requires your full devotion.....I mean it's difficult, takes up ALL of your time, you will have no life......or you will fail out or switch majors. I started out in EE but decided it wasn't the right career path. I wasn't willing to sacrifice my college life for learning the in's and outs of calc, physics, chem, systems, etc. But if you're serious, there are very few better places to go.
 

tom3

Golden Member
Oct 10, 1999
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If you're thinking about Microelectronics Engineering, you owe it to yourself to check out RIT. I believe it is among the nation's top schools for this particular field of study, and it definitely has a top-notch facility (wafer labs, bunny suits, the whole deal) sponsored by AMD, Intel, Motorola, Analog devices, and more. I've heard that to properly maintain the equipment in the labs, that whole section of the building is separate from the main building, and rests on hydralics to maintain perfect balance or something to that effect :) The labs certainly look very impressive. Here is the department homepage.

I got my BS in software engineering (the nation's first undergraduate software engineering degree! :D) in may of 02, and am now finishing up my MS in computer science here. Depending on whom you ask, living here may or may not be all that great an experience, but it's progressively been getting better. But if you're serious about getting a good education, you're going to get it here. The (engineering) classes usually push you pretty hard. You really should come out and pay the department and the school a visit. :)
 

Acanthus

Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
19,915
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76
ostif.org
thanks for the input guys :) i was hoping wingnut would pop in and toss me some advice, ill have to PM him later. I was expecting to have to get a masters or Dr level degree for this. My plan as it is now is to go to a local college for general studies to raise my GPA (i messed around in HS). Then transfer out to a much better school.

So the field is EE? i thought it would be something more specific, but that may be what grad school is for.
 

white

Senior member
Nov 2, 2000
988
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the major would be EE but depending on how advanced you want to get, you may have to go to grad school to get the "advanced" training you're looking for.