What feild of engineering?

I am just wondering what i should choose as a career? I know for a fact that i want to enter a field of engineering (there is no changing that, either.)

Here are the four that i am thing about (in order of "importance")

1. Electrical Engineering
2. Computer Engineering
3. Software Engineering
4. Civil Engineering

I am pretty sure i am going to do EE, but i don't want to rule out the other possibilities quite yet.

From what i hear, computer engineering is just EE and software engineering put together. learn some hardware, some software. Definitely a possibility.

Software Engineering would be cool, but i see programming as more of a hobby than a possible career path. Even though i do all the time, i don't think sitting in front of a computer monitor all my life is quite what i want to do.

As for Civil Engineering, it is just an idea i am toying with. I am really don't think it will happen (as it am not as passionate about it as electronics), but i think designing bridges would be kinda fun.



To narrow the list even further, i would honestly say either the first two (electrical or computer engineering)


Some comments/suggestions would be great. Please play nice.

How bout all of them, as in NASA, our time is limited.

Why isn't mechanical on the list? BUt civil is? Just pick the one you like most. Surely, you can figure that out? I'm sure you will once you are made to take a few courses in each subject in university like I was.

It's fairly easy to jump between EE and CompE though. COmpE is more like a specialized version of EE where you focus more on the digital microelectronics that make up processors and FPGAs things like adders, barrel shifters, logic gates, memory and all that as well as coding.

That would actually be great! Get a PhD in all four... I couldn't afford it though


I was thinking more along the lines of getting my Bachelor's Degree in EE, getting a job, getting my Masters in EE, and then maybe my PhD.

I would be interested in finding out what Nigel Goodwins, Hero999, Roff, 3v0, kchriste, and others education was/is.

Anyone have masters/PhD in EE?

I became an electronics technician via an apprenticeship program (now defunct) with a local company when I finished high school in 1986. Basically, you worked 10 months of the year and the government paid you to go to tech school (BCIT) for two months of the year. This took 4 years to complete. It was a great program as you got experience on the job and a free education to boot.
I never went into electronics engineering because that meant going to university and taking all those irrelevant academic courses on top of everything else. Plus the math kinda scared me off. I have gotten to design / co-design some actual products over the years though you really couldn't call it engineering.
I would try to get as far as you can before getting a semi-permanent job. Once you have a job, you'll have your own place, financial commitments, etc and it'll be so much harder to get back to the education frame of mind.
If you like designing stuff, as opposed to fixing, EE or COmpE are good choices.

Marks256 said:

I would be interested in finding out what Nigel Goodwins, Hero999, Roff, 3v0, kchriste, and others education was/is.

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I was a college drop out

I started on a four year 'day release' course called ETV (Electronics and TeleVision) - for a start I skipped the first year, as I already had O levels in physics and maths (plus chemistry, biology and woodwork). At the end of year three (my second) I passed with a 'Distinction Grade 1' - the highest mark possible, and I (along with a few other high scorers) skipped the final year and moved to T3 (a technicians course). I stuck T3 until Christmas, then dropped out, it was just a complete waste of time, and many of the other students (who had come through the older RTV - Radio and TV course) were now in their 8th year!. Yet we were being taught nothing we didn't already know, including a number of weeks sat in the heavy machines lab where we did phase shift using resistors and capacitors the size of TV's, and mounted on wheels, using live 440V mains from bare brass terminals.

It all came to a head when we were given a big coil, a magnet, and a galvanometer - you were supposed to drop the magnet in the coil and watch the needle go 'wheeeeee' - BIG DEAL. So I was sat there just looking at it, in a disbelieving confused state - and the lecturer came up and said "what are you doing", so I said "I'm not doing this load of s**t for a start, I did this first year at secondary school". He seemed to take offence at this and stormed off to see the principal - the outcome was that the college had messed up all the lesson plans, and we weren't supposed to be there at all.

But things didn't get much better, we still weren't learning anything (and I hadn't been taught much during the previous years either), it was just wasting my life, so I dropped out and simply carried on at work.

I would point out though, that I've since won "Grundig Satellite Engineer of the Year" and twice won "Sharp Electronics Engineer of the Year" (a title I still hold, as it's not run since I last won it). Bear in mind this is a UK wide competition, of the best engineers in the country!.

Watch out what college you go to, most of them will rip your ass off making you spend months taking classes you aren't ever going to use! I remember having to write a page on psychology while I was there to learn about computer networking. WTF does psychology have to do with farking computers and networks????

Well I've always wanted to go into electronics but most of it's gone overseas to China and Japan these days.

Civil and electrical both sound good as people will always need roads buildings and electrical engineers to wire it all up.

Marks256 said:

Software Engineering would be cool, but i see programming as more of a hobby than a possible career path. Even though i do all the time, i don't think sitting in front of a computer monitor all my life is quite what i want to do.

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You can spend a lot of time in front of a computer as an EE, too. For instance, if you design ICs for a living, the pay is really good, but you almost never get to touch hardware during the design process, because all your "breadboarding" is done on a computer. I speak from experience. I spent most of my career designing circuits at the PC board level -fun, most of the time-, and the last 10 designing DRAMS, on a simulator. Of course, my design time was interspersed with a lot of mostly boring meetings, but you get that in almost any desk job.

I would like to get into some form of R&D (research and development.)

I think that would be fun. Well, that is assuming R&D is what i think it is...

If I could "do it over" then I think I would go for either, Microbiology, Drug design, Nano anything, basically anything at the leading edge. Computers and electronics are old stuff now. Microbiology and Genomics will be where the big money is made in the future.

Mike.

I would think that a BS in EE would give you the most flexiblity to then move on to any specialty you wished.

Lefty

I hated biology class, i don't think i want to get into Microbiology, or Genomics.

One of my buddies says that if you want to make a lot of money and not work much, become a orthodontist. This observation was a result of getting his kids fitted with braces. He also knows one personally, and sees how and where he lives. I don't think I would enjoy it, but from his point of view, it's no worse that EE, which he doesn't enjoy either.
Of course, you would have to study microbiology.

While I stated "this is where the big money will be made". This was not my reason to state Microbiology. I truly believe that this is going to be a leading edge technology where exciting things are going to happen. A bit like 40 years ago when steam was old hat and electronics was where to be.

Mike.

I wish i would have been around during the computer revolution. I would have been in heaven.

Marks256 said:

I hated biology class, i don't think i want to get into Microbiology, or Genomics.

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I think Pommie had something in mind more like what we call molecular microbiology or molecular biology. It is all genes/DNA/RNA/prion stuff, not like classical biology at all. U. Minnesota is very good in that area. John

Why not M&E (mechanical /electrical) verry diverse and for a big part a lot of simularities with electronics and now these days also programming

calculating HVAC systems or pump systems
designing process controls or just on the site and do the management of it all
(for management position you should have practical experience, you will be much better in managing it)

designing water/liquid piping involving pumps valves and everything is the more or less the same as electronics

(fire fighting systems) the combination of the above interacted with fire alarm systems verry intresting but not that easy with all the rules and regulations

an other aspect is there are to less people to do all the jobs so a job garanty can alsmost be given with starting the course and in general it's not a bad paying one and if you don't like you just switch over to something else its so wide that you can easy relate to an othe field of the technic

Robert-Jan

I don't like high voltage, so anything to do without HV is out of the question. I like TTL and other low voltage things.

Marks256 said:

I don't like high voltage, so anything to do without HV is out of the question. I like TTL and other low voltage things.

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Then you might as well just go into CompE or an EE that specializes in RF/analog electronics or microelectronics. From what I've seen, an RF/analog engineer is a very rare and valued thing.

Why don't you like high voltage though? There's a bit of a difference between working with high voltage in your basement and working with it in industrial applications. By completely avoiding HV, you are essentially crossing out the entire field of power electronics (be it small low voltage DC-DC converters, motor drives, or power generators). THere is much money to be made in that field. I personally like it because motors are what makes a robot not a computer!