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Plinkey posted:I know this is a bit old, but at most Universities the line is so blurred between Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Computer Science (to a lesser extent) that you can be an Electrical Engineering Major and take almost strictly Computer Science and Computer Engineering courses. so do you work in hardware or software now?
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Jan 24, 2011 20:12
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Mostly software, but I use the EE background quite a bit. I work on Radar systems, mostly the software side but I also work with power requirement for test sets, support hardware, building and integrating test equipment so a bit of everything, but if I had to sum it up, I'm a 'Software Guy'. Also working with Radar you need a pretty good understanding of how the underlying hardware works (which admittedly I need to learn a lot more about). I'm getting my masters in Computer Science right now also, so I'm going mostly completely to the software side. Hopefully later onto Systems.
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Jan 24, 2011 20:51
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Plinkey posted:Mostly software, but I use the EE background quite a bit. I work on Radar systems, mostly the software side but I also work with power requirement for test sets, support hardware, building and integrating test equipment so a bit of everything, but if I had to sum it up, I'm a 'Software Guy'. Man I don't want to get sucked into software. I'd rather do hardware stuff like pcb design and fpga implementation. But I feel like computer engineering prepares you for nothing. I don't have enough for EE type work and not enough for CS type work. But I've noticed that most CpE go into software. poo poo maybe I should do an EE masters seo fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Jan 26, 2011 |
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Jan 26, 2011 18:47
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seo posted:Man I don't want to get sucked into software. I'd rather do hardware stuff like pcb design and fpga implementation. But I feel like computer engineering prepares you for nothing. I don't have enough for EE type work and not enough for CS type work. But I've noticed that most CpE go into software. I have a CE and have done ASIC & FPGA design and verification for ~5 years. And although it is in the absolute sense Computer Hardware Design I have news for you, it's pretty much programming. You just have to be able to analyze what you are telling the synthesis tool to do in terms of voltages, currents and circuits. EE or CE doesn't really seem to matter that much in the real world. Do some internships, find out what you like and apply for jobs. No one expects a fresh out to know anything anyway so it's not hard to get into the specific application you want. Now that I've said all that, I am going back to school for an MSEE in the fall because all I know about Digital Signal Processing, Analog Signal Processing and Mixed Signal design I taught myself and it's pretty much all I do all day every day.
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Jan 26, 2011 19:55
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Murgos posted:I have a CE and have done ASIC & FPGA design and verification for ~5 years. And although it is in the absolute sense Computer Hardware Design I have news for you, it's pretty much programming. You just have to be able to analyze what you are telling the synthesis tool to do in terms of voltages, currents and circuits. well this makes me feel better ;D
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Jan 27, 2011 04:32
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Qwertyiop25 posted:I understand what you're saying but I saw some things in earlier pages about people who majored in Biological Engineering having trouble getting jobs. Right now I'm mostly between ChemE and CompSci or Computer Engineering. What kind of jobs would I be looking at with these degrees? Job prospects and employment ease will vary dramatically based on where you are and your educational experience. For example, around here there is no shortage of programmers. Companies saying there is a shortage of engineers/programmers often come from two places A. There is a distinct shortage of highly skilled engineers with experience or a specific specialization they need. B. The company is huge, has a ton of cash, and likes to hire engineers to do anything remotely technical regardless of need. I swear to god you see the latter all the time in the software field. When you have a lot of cash on hand why not have functional testers that have a masters in CS? Anyways, point being that your market will dictate how hard it is to get your first job. The best way to get around it is always to intern/coop at a real place that gives you real work. This is how a lot of places weed out young blood. People having trouble finding a job are often either in a place where there is less work, or they are in a place where the competition for those jobs is fierce. If you get through your degree with 0 work experience it can be really hard to get that first job in many cases. Why hire the kid out of college when you can get 100 applicants with a few years of experience, or even a masters graduate etc. So get a coop. Really, if you want to take a huge part of the post graduation job hunt stress off your shoulders take as many coops/internships as you can at the school even if it delays your graduation. If they are half decent you will not regret it.
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Jan 27, 2011 07:02
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I graduated in May with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. Since then, I haven't even gotten a nibble in my job search. I don't really have anything to put on my resume, so I've been listing Engineering classes, my senior design project, and my part-time delivery job from school. Is there anything else I can use? I can barely fill a page with contact info, education info, coursework, references, and "work experience." I never did any internships since I was taking summer classes and didn't know where to look anyway, but my GPA was pretty solid (3.27).
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Jan 27, 2011 11:05
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You can still do an internship even though you have graduated. Yes, that's right, you will get paid ~half of what a full time hire would make but you will do lighter work and it's a chance for the company to check you out and for you to pad your resume. Most companies don't care that you already graduated, if you want, just say you are considering going back to school but want to check out the work force. Don't take an engineering internship that doesn't pay! For everyone else considering just doing summer classes and not doing an internship/coop, you should be doing an internship every summer! Start even before you matriculate to your engineering program. Check out different fields, check out different employers, see new places and get paid for it! It is AS important as getting a 4.0 gpa for getting a job after graduation, more actually. Murgos fucked around with this message at 13:22 on Jan 27, 2011 |
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Jan 27, 2011 13:18
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Would you say look into an Internship right after your Freshman year though? I figured after Sophomore year would be best to start.
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Jan 27, 2011 14:34
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Dr. Goonstein posted:Would you say look into an Internship right after your Freshman year though? I figured after Sophomore year would be best to start. Do it as early as you can. Some companies love getting freshmen coming into their sophmore year, because they will have you do crap work for you that summer, then keep bringing you back as you improve. You get to acclimate with everyone and learn the ropes of the company etc. Now don't be surprised if you don't get one, a lot of places don't look for interns/coops before their junior years, but it is worth a shot. Also, if you have any specific companies in mind look into their internship/coop stuff before hand, because a lot of places will not do them for non students. While you will be able to find something you are seriously limiting your choices by not doing one till after graduation.
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Jan 27, 2011 16:08
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Dr. Goonstein posted:Would you say look into an Internship right after your Freshman year though? I figured after Sophomore year would be best to start. Yeah, do it ASAP. My school was different in that we were expected to find a co-op our first year, but basically working as an engineer since I was 16 helped a lot. My first co-op term is still my favorite; learning tips and tricks from veteran lab techs, became very, very good at soldering, using lab equipment, etc. (Now if I haven't been drinking caffeine, I can deal with 0201s  )So, now when you go to apply for a job, employers can look at your resume and know they don't have to waste time introducing you to the corporate world, just a quick orientation to their company and your group, and off you go. I'd argue that just getting the corporate experience is worth it on its own; you'll learn that Dilbert is hilariously accurate, and you'll be able to change majors if you hate it, and before it's too late.
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Jan 27, 2011 16:23
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Murgos posted:For everyone else considering just doing summer classes and not doing an internship/coop, you should be doing an internship every summer! Start even before you matriculate to your engineering program. Check out different fields, check out different employers, see new places and get paid for it! This is so important it can't be stressed enough. I managed to land a job mostly because of my internships. Also if your university offers them you can take online classes over the summer, or classes at a closer campus (if you've got multiple campuses). I think one thing that really helped me get a job was that I was working (either in an internship over the summer or help desk job during the semesters) and taking classes the entire 4.5 years I was in undergrad including every summer.
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Jan 27, 2011 16:29
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Jan 27, 2011 17:46
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Thoguh posted:Getting an internship is more important than getting a 4.00. Given two cantidates, one that has a 3.4 and a few summers or semesters of internship experience, and one with a 4.00 who never ventured outside the classroom, we're much more likely to invite the 3.4 guy in for an interview. In my university internships are a requirement to get a title, but they're done until the last year of the career (and there aren't really recruiters for the early years over here). However, I just got a job at school doing PCBs with a nifty machine and also as an almacenist in charge of every piece of equipment, and I'm also a private tutor for like 20 kids and have a high GPA. Does that kind of experience count for something?
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Jan 27, 2011 18:13
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Sweet As Sin posted:In my university internships are a requirement to get a title, but they're done until the last year of the career (and there aren't really recruiters for the early years over here). However, I just got a job at school doing PCBs with a nifty machine and also as an almacenist in charge of every piece of equipment, and I'm also a private tutor for like 20 kids and have a high GPA. Does that kind of experience count for something? Yes, it's very good.
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Jan 27, 2011 18:44
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Plinkey posted:I know this is a bit old, but at most Universities the line is so blurred between Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering and Computer Science (to a lesser extent) that you can be an Electrical Engineering Major and take almost strictly Computer Science and Computer Engineering courses. I'm not finished with undergrad yet. Besides the computer mumbojumbo I'm taking/took courses in power systems and nanotechnology/photonics. I've been kind of lazy on the internship and job hunting since I have tons of family working as engineers and engineering managers in various industries, and I want to pursue a masters before seriously settling down in a career.
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Jan 27, 2011 19:08
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A Jew in Manhattan posted:I'm not finished with undergrad yet. Besides the computer mumbojumbo I'm taking/took courses in power systems and nanotechnology/photonics. I've been kind of lazy on the internship and job hunting since I have tons of family working as engineers and engineering managers in various industries, and I want to pursue a masters before seriously settling down in a career. Have you thought about getting into the work force and having your company pay for a Masters? It doesn't really buy you much at most large companies....usually you get something like 6 months seniority over a new hire with only an undergrad, and about the same pay...but more debt.
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Jan 27, 2011 20:00
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Thoguh posted:Getting an internship is more important than getting a 4.00. Given two cantidates, one that has a 3.4 and a few summers or semesters of internship experience, and one with a 4.00 who never ventured outside the classroom, we're much more likely to invite the 3.4 guy in for an interview. The 4.00 guy/gal is more than likely going to go to graduate or medical school anyways, and probably doesn't care about getting any industrial experience. The disinterest is likely mutual. Foyes36 fucked around with this message at 20:25 on Jan 27, 2011 |
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Jan 27, 2011 20:22
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Pfirti86 posted:The 4.00 guy/gal is more than likely going to go to graduate or medical school anyways, and probably doesn't care about getting any industrial experience. The disinterest is likely mutual. I hate that attitude. Not every student with a good GPA is meant to go on to grad school or even has grad school as a goal.
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Jan 27, 2011 23:28
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Jan 28, 2011 00:02
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Alright, thanks for the heads up. I haven't did a whole lot of looking into it, but I'm fairly certain there are little to no defense contractors in the Lincoln/Omaha region. If that is the field I want to go into, but there is little for internships in that field around my university, what would be an adequate internship...field (for lack of a better word) should I look into? I realize if I ended up going to CSM, I would have a lot more choices in Denver. However, UNL is already paying for a little under $12,000 a year for me to go there and study, and that with a mix of it being only 3 hours away from home, and knowing people that go to UNL, kind of won it over for me. Am I going to be hampering my chances at landing a job in my desired field by going to Lincoln instead of Golden? 
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Jan 28, 2011 03:20
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Dr. Goonstein posted:Alright, thanks for the heads up. I did two internships working on farm equipment and now I'm working at a DOD contractor. It really doesn't matter what your internship is in if you get good experience and reviews. When you show up for an interview and you don't have 'worked on trident missile system and Hubble space telescope' they'll understand why. DOD contractors also hire pretty much every type of engineering...what were you majoring in again, I didn't see it browsing back a bit.
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Jan 28, 2011 04:02
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I'm in Canada, and graduating with a MechEng degree this year. My marks aren't the best, but also not the worst. Anyone here who deals with hiring mind taking a look at my resume? I've sent out probably 30+ resume's and cover letters, and I haven't heard anything back, and I'm wondering if theres some glaring error on my resume that I'm missing.
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Jan 28, 2011 04:05
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Plinkey posted:I did two internships working on farm equipment and now I'm working at a DOD contractor. It really doesn't matter what your internship is in if you get good experience and reviews. When you show up for an interview and you don't have 'worked on trident missile system and Hubble space telescope' they'll understand why. Mechanical, sorry about that. Glad to know that bit of information. Though living in Nebraska where there is farm equipment everywhere as you drive down the highway gets old, and I sure hope to get away from it. 
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Jan 28, 2011 04:07
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Jan 28, 2011 04:30
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Hey there my fellow (future) engineers, I'm a second semester EE/Physics dual major at a university that currently is only ranked in the 80 range in the country. I've got a strong 3.7+ GPA and plenty of work experience (I currently build control electronics for experiments as an intern at a research company that is located on campus). Anyway, I've been feeling that what I really want is to go into research rather than strictly engineering, maybe something like Applied Physics. My question is this: If I want to pursue my PhD should I stick at my current university or attempt to transfer to a big name institution? Would it be worth the loss of connections to earn my degree from a place with a recognizable name?
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Jan 28, 2011 04:36
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Dr. Goonstein posted:Mechanical, sorry about that. Glad to know that bit of information. Though living in Nebraska where there is farm equipment everywhere as you drive down the highway gets old, and I sure hope to get away from it. I did two summers at Case New Holland, it was actually really awesome. Mostly working on embedded systems for balers/wind rowers and building some prototype circuit boards for new features that our embedded controllers couldn't support. It's really all about getting some experience. I'd actually say that you'd be better of not starting at a huge DOD contractor for an internship. I learned more in about 8 months at Case than I did in about the same time where i work now I had a lot more freedom to do stuff because it was a much smaller place and we didn't have groups dedicated to prototyping/testing...etc. You had to do it all yourself.
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Jan 28, 2011 04:38
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Plinkey posted:Have you thought about getting into the work force and having your company pay for a Masters? It doesn't really buy you much at most large companies....usually you get something like 6 months seniority over a new hire with only an undergrad, and about the same pay...but more debt. Plinkey (and anyone else with experience), what sorts of architectures do you find yourself working with the most when you work on embedded systems?
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Jan 29, 2011 00:04
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VxWorks and Mercury signal processing boards...I also have no idea how the underlying kernel works...I don't do that stuff. At Case it was some embedded system that I forget, it was more simple than that VxWorks stuff.
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Jan 29, 2011 01:16
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 14:50 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Jan 29, 2011 05:27
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Anyone working/worked for the US Army Corp of Engineers? I'd really like to get a job with them not only because they're a federal agency but I'm also prior service Army so it seems pretty fitting to be doing my civilian job in a semi-military environment. I'm also more interested in working on public service projects, after having worked for two private companies. Any suggestions on what they mostly look for in applicants? I'm geotech BTW.
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Jan 29, 2011 06:19
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FooGoo posted:Anyone working/worked for the US Army Corp of Engineers?
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Jan 29, 2011 15:23
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I'm about 8.5 months done with a one-year EE internship at a research centre for a multi-national company. I received the internship through my school and one of the perks of doing these internships is that they should count towards the time spent as an EIT, so I should receive my PEng sooner. However, research being research, my job is fairly tedious and fairly basic. I simply run the tests and help with maintaining the test setups. Usually, I don't perform any data analysis either. To this point, this internship is the only job experience I have on my resume. I know that the majority of engineering jobs are not like this, but I'm left feeling like I'm going to be woefully underprepared for life after school and thus, going to have a hard time finding a job. I've picked up a lot of "soft skills", but no real new technical knowledge besides some bits and pieces about material science. Should I be concerned about this, or should I try to not let it bother me so much?
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Feb 12, 2011 15:35
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Colmface posted:I'm about 8.5 months done with a one-year EE internship at a research centre for a multi-national company. I received the internship through my school and one of the perks of doing these internships is that they should count towards the time spent as an EIT, so I should receive my PEng sooner. I wouldn't worry about it. I don't know what "running tests" involves, but it actually sounds more involved than most internship experiences I've heard about, including my own. I don't think anyone's going to expect you to have picked up on all this real world knowledge in the span of a year as an intern, especially if you're going to be looking for jobs outside this specific research center. If you're looking for a job that's in depth technically, it will take you a few years of hands on work to really get a handle on what you're doing, and people who are hiring new graduates understand this.
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Feb 12, 2011 19:29
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Nearly 3/4ths of the way done with my first year of Comp Sci / Comp E Dual degree. Please tell me it's all worth it in the end. I'm actually pushing to transfer to the larger college that offers the Comp E degree part program and just skipping Comp sci. Looking again at the Dual Degree yearly class outline I'll be regularly taking Summer I and Summer II classes and then a few semester of 18 credits over the course of 5 years. gently caress me.
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Feb 15, 2011 21:52
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It's (probably) worth it! I think it'd be better to just do one degree though and use the extra time to do non-school stuff, like co-ops, internships, part-time jobs, research, or personal projects. Also doing just one degree would probably make it easier to get good grades.
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Feb 16, 2011 03:21
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Dotcom656 posted:Nearly 3/4ths of the way done with my first year of Comp Sci / Comp E Dual degree. No, probably not worth it at all unless you're really enjoying the material. I stopped doing a dual program when a professor told me it was a brilliant idea created by the department to get more cash out of students. Every job I applied for would have taken CE/CS and sometimes even EE. I stuck with CE and I'm certainly glad I did.
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Feb 16, 2011 03:56
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Dotcom656, if you're interested in both of those things but don't want to get beaten to death by credit hours consider switching to mechatronics. Not every school offers it as a major, but it balances your interests with practical manufacturing studies (e.g. mechanical engineering, some electrical/circuits stuff, etc). If that doesn't sound interesting to you, consider picking the major you think you could be most interested in. If you don't have a favorite, pick the one that makes you more money (your first several classes between the two majors will probably crossover, so if you change your mind mid-stream you won't have wasted much time). As has been said, you should consider doing internships or co-ops, as just working year-round on a dual degree program won't make you more attractive than somebody with 1.5-2 years of co-op experience coming right out of college. In your field you'll earn decent pay doing a co-op and learn a hell of a lot of stuff that will make it easier to complete your classes at school. Plus, if the economy is still slow, the company you work with will be more likely to hire you. You'll have more money, more time, a greater chance of being hired for better pay, and you'll still have your sanity. Win-win.
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Feb 16, 2011 04:06
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Anyone know how attractive prior-military experience is to an employer? I'm in AFROTC right now and planning to go into the Developmental Engineering field. It'd be good to know where I'll stand compared to other applicants when I get out after 4-8 years.
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Feb 16, 2011 05:03
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Colmface posted:I'm about 8.5 months done with a one-year EE internship at a research centre for a multi-national company. I received the internship through my school and one of the perks of doing these internships is that they should count towards the time spent as an EIT, so I should receive my PEng sooner. I wouldn't be concerned; long term you'll be fine. You may have trouble convincing the PEO that you're doing acceptable engineering work, though. Have your written your pre-graduation experience report yet? In future interviews, play up the soft skills and use other examples from the job in answers to behavioral questions in future interviews. Use your technical knowledge from school. That said, I don't know where exactly you're in school, but I would report this to the PEY office or whatever. It sounds like you're working as a technician, not an engineering intern. No future students should repeat the same internship. I had a great experience during my internship between third and fourth years. The company gave me a lot of responsibility and interesting work. Virtually all of my friends had similar experiences.
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