Careers in computer engineering

Electrical engineering and computer science both fall under the more general term of computer engineering. Careers in computer engineering are very hot right now and they look like they will only get hotter. While demand for the jobs is high, the supply (people with computer engineering degrees is also rising. Still, it’s a good idea anybody to consider a career in computer engineering.

Careers in computer science are great. They pay well and they are interesting jobs (for the most part). Since the popularity of computers continues to grow and will continue to grow, the need for computer engineers will exist for a very long time, if not forever. Computer engineers need to have a college education in computer engineering or a similar field. A bachelor’s degree is required but a master’s degree of PhD will help a computer engineer be in more demand and make better money.

As you may guess, computer engineering careers deal with computers and software. Computer engineers are trained to work with computer software and hardware. They focus on the design, the development, and the integration of everything that is related to computer software or hardware.

To become a computer engineer a person must have a degree in computer engineering or a related field. All computer engineers have at least a bachelor’s degree. Many go on to earn a master’s degree too. Many institutions offer majors in computer engineering. Some even allow the students to choose a specific field. So instead of just majoring in the broad field of computer engineering, a student would major in a specific part of computer engineering.

In fact, if a student tries to study all the design and application associated with computer engineering then that student will not be an expert in any part of it. There is just too much to be learned in four years.

Some of the specialty areas include (but aren’t limited to) algorithms, circuits and signals, computer organization and architecture, database systems, digital logic and signal processing, electronics, operating systems, software engineering, and computer networking.

In general a computer engineer can expect to make somewhere in the neighborhood of $50,000 in their first year. Those who have been working for 5 years or more can expect to make more than $60,000. So you can see that the pay is very good and very competitive with most other engineering careers.