Hennjer A
I'm about to be a senior and i'm thinking about majoring in Computer Hardware Engineering. I have already done some research but would like to hear more about this major. For Example, How easy or hard is it to find a job, what are some skills that i should have, and how is the work environment. When i was round 13 (I'm 16 now, will graduate at 17) i lasted around a month learning about the computer's hardware, i got to the point where i knew how to build a computer parts for parts and i knew how the computer works. Do you guys think that this knowledge will help me out in this major? I wish i could get a good paying job right after graduating from college.
Answer
Professionals in computer engineering, called hardware engineers or computer engineers, create and test the physical components of computer systems, such as circuits, chips and boxes, as well as peripherals, such as routers, keyboards and printers. Their developments are used in many industries, including telecommunications, entertainment, and computer manufacturing. The career offers many advantages over other jobs.
Salaries
Computer hardware engineers earned high salaries, averaging $101,360 per year, or $48.73 per hour, as of May 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even the lowest-paid 10 percent made up to $62,400 per year, or $30 hourly, while the top earners reached or exceeded $147,610 yearly, or $70.97 per hour. These earnings were well above the average of $45,230 per year, or $21.74 per hour, for all occupations in the country. The wages of the engineers were also above the mean salaries of all computer and math occupations, which were an annual $78,730, or $37.85. They were also above the averages for all engineering jobs, which ran $77,120 yearly, or $37.08 hourly.
Education
Six-figure salaries are achievable after many years of education, such as for lawyers, who require four years of law school after college, or for doctors, who have four years of medical schools, and three to eight years of residency. Computer engineers can start on the high-earning path with only a four-year bachelorâs degree for most entry-level positions. A masterâs degree can increase pay by 16 percent, according to the 2011 degree salary survey by Georgetown University. Students also develop the useful skill of computer programming, since software knowledge is needed for engineers to get their computer hardware components to function. In addition, they can gain practical experience in school through internships or co-ops.
Opportunities
Professionals in computer engineering will not want for jobs, with an expected average growth rate of 9 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the statistics bureau. Though the outsourcing of computer manufacturing to foreign countries may affect employment, many companies are now contracting out their hardware designs. This provides opportunities for those working in computer consulting firms. From their present positions, hardware engineers who gain experience or show administrative acumen can become computer managers, who enjoy greater challenges, more responsibility, and higher pay. As of 2011, computer managers made an average $129,350 per year, or $62.29 per hour.
Intangibles
Computer engineering careers are admired as being on the forefront of technology, influencing such developments as the processing power of tablets, the entertainment capabilities of cell phones, and the speed of financial transactions. As with other engineering jobs, the job is considered prestigious, providing intellectual development and challenging work in a professional environment. Hardware engineers require creative thinking to come up with technological and scientific discoveries that affect everyday consumers. What they do benefits society and the countryâs ability to remain competitive on the global stage.
Professionals in computer engineering, called hardware engineers or computer engineers, create and test the physical components of computer systems, such as circuits, chips and boxes, as well as peripherals, such as routers, keyboards and printers. Their developments are used in many industries, including telecommunications, entertainment, and computer manufacturing. The career offers many advantages over other jobs.
Salaries
Computer hardware engineers earned high salaries, averaging $101,360 per year, or $48.73 per hour, as of May 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even the lowest-paid 10 percent made up to $62,400 per year, or $30 hourly, while the top earners reached or exceeded $147,610 yearly, or $70.97 per hour. These earnings were well above the average of $45,230 per year, or $21.74 per hour, for all occupations in the country. The wages of the engineers were also above the mean salaries of all computer and math occupations, which were an annual $78,730, or $37.85. They were also above the averages for all engineering jobs, which ran $77,120 yearly, or $37.08 hourly.
Education
Six-figure salaries are achievable after many years of education, such as for lawyers, who require four years of law school after college, or for doctors, who have four years of medical schools, and three to eight years of residency. Computer engineers can start on the high-earning path with only a four-year bachelorâs degree for most entry-level positions. A masterâs degree can increase pay by 16 percent, according to the 2011 degree salary survey by Georgetown University. Students also develop the useful skill of computer programming, since software knowledge is needed for engineers to get their computer hardware components to function. In addition, they can gain practical experience in school through internships or co-ops.
Opportunities
Professionals in computer engineering will not want for jobs, with an expected average growth rate of 9 percent from 2010 to 2020, according to the statistics bureau. Though the outsourcing of computer manufacturing to foreign countries may affect employment, many companies are now contracting out their hardware designs. This provides opportunities for those working in computer consulting firms. From their present positions, hardware engineers who gain experience or show administrative acumen can become computer managers, who enjoy greater challenges, more responsibility, and higher pay. As of 2011, computer managers made an average $129,350 per year, or $62.29 per hour.
Intangibles
Computer engineering careers are admired as being on the forefront of technology, influencing such developments as the processing power of tablets, the entertainment capabilities of cell phones, and the speed of financial transactions. As with other engineering jobs, the job is considered prestigious, providing intellectual development and challenging work in a professional environment. Hardware engineers require creative thinking to come up with technological and scientific discoveries that affect everyday consumers. What they do benefits society and the countryâs ability to remain competitive on the global stage.
Should I get into Computer Engineering or Information Technology?
David S
What's higher in demand and which field is higher in salary?
Answer
Computer Engineering will have the higher potential salary but will involve more advanced math. I will give you a general run down of the big 4 IT majors.
There are a number of viable IT majors. Just figure out what you would like to do. These are all good. You need a 4 year degree. If all you have time for is a 2 year degree then that is ok for starters but you will still need to complete years 3&4. Don't get a certificate type degree or a Devry or ITT Tech degree- not recognized by many employers and credits may not transfer in the future. There are several main Computer majors and their associated career categories and you need to know these just to get the lay of the land. These degree titles are often found in Associates, Bachelors and Masters degree programs. Generally most IT employers are looking for a 4 year Bachelors degree in an IT related major as a minimum requirement. For working people some of these majors are offered by schools in night classes and we are beginning to see online or hybrid online/classroom options available. Depending on the school, a Bachelors degree in an IT field may be a BA or a BS. There does not seem to be any problems for employers with a BA or BS as long as it is a bachelors degree. If you already have a degree in another major, if you have an Associates degree or if you have a bunch or college credits and no degree you can usually find a degree completion program that will allow you to take 14-16 months of classes and graduate with a Bachelors in a computer related major.
Now some of the titles colleges use may consist of different course curriculums. As an example one school may have more programming classes in the same major while another school has fewer. Schools may call their general IT program Computer Information Technology, Computer Information Systems or Computer Information Science. To really tell what the major is about you should look at the courses that a particular school offers in that major. Another point of confusion is job titles you will see. For example, I am called a Computer Systems Engineer but I don't do anything associated with Computer Engineering. One job I had I was Systems Programmer but I did not do any programming. So the titles for majors and for jobs in IT can be very confusing. Sometimes I will hear someone say they want to pursue Computer Science or Computer Engineering and once they find out what it involves they realize that is not what they want to do. If this is old info, that you already know, apologies. Here are the majors and some associated jobs:
Computer Science (CS) - A technical degree which usually has a Programming emphasis - people with this major usually are developing application software, web development, embedded code and robotics. Sometimes depending on the college the degree may cover some more general topics as listed under CIS below. CS is a difficult major and may include a number of advanced math courses. Many CS students find themselves not enjoying programming, not being gifted at it or not having the math and logic skills to be good at programming and they will switch out into CIS. CS majors that are able to graduate can also qualify for jobs listed below under CIS.
Computer Information Systems (CIS) - This may also be called a variety of other names like Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), etc. This is a general technical degree and is the degree that I have. Holders of these degree work in a variety of technical jobs like these:
Computer Technician, Service Center Coordinator, Help Desk Staff, Storage Administrator, Network Administrator, Systems Administrator, Systems Engineer, Enterprise Administrator, Active Directory Administrator, Exchange and Messaging Administrator, Backup Administrator, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Database Administrator, Computing Security Specialist, Corporate IT Acquisition Specialist and Data Center Administrator, just to name a few.
Computer Engineering - This is a technical engineering and design degree. These degree holders get jobs related to designing and manufacturing computer related hardware. Obviously when you think of hardware you think of laptops and PCs but this might be all kinds of computer devices like tablets, processors, memory, storage, networking equipment and components of computers.
Management Information Systems (MIS) - This is a business degree that prepares non-technically trained people to manage projects, budgets and people. Traditionally, senior IT technical pros would eventually be promoted into management positions after years of technical work. The good news is they understood technical challenges their people were working with but the bad news was that some were great tech people but poor people managers. I have had both types of these managers and the new trend is definitely towards these non-technical managers.
Hope this helps.
Best Wishes!
Computer Engineering will have the higher potential salary but will involve more advanced math. I will give you a general run down of the big 4 IT majors.
There are a number of viable IT majors. Just figure out what you would like to do. These are all good. You need a 4 year degree. If all you have time for is a 2 year degree then that is ok for starters but you will still need to complete years 3&4. Don't get a certificate type degree or a Devry or ITT Tech degree- not recognized by many employers and credits may not transfer in the future. There are several main Computer majors and their associated career categories and you need to know these just to get the lay of the land. These degree titles are often found in Associates, Bachelors and Masters degree programs. Generally most IT employers are looking for a 4 year Bachelors degree in an IT related major as a minimum requirement. For working people some of these majors are offered by schools in night classes and we are beginning to see online or hybrid online/classroom options available. Depending on the school, a Bachelors degree in an IT field may be a BA or a BS. There does not seem to be any problems for employers with a BA or BS as long as it is a bachelors degree. If you already have a degree in another major, if you have an Associates degree or if you have a bunch or college credits and no degree you can usually find a degree completion program that will allow you to take 14-16 months of classes and graduate with a Bachelors in a computer related major.
Now some of the titles colleges use may consist of different course curriculums. As an example one school may have more programming classes in the same major while another school has fewer. Schools may call their general IT program Computer Information Technology, Computer Information Systems or Computer Information Science. To really tell what the major is about you should look at the courses that a particular school offers in that major. Another point of confusion is job titles you will see. For example, I am called a Computer Systems Engineer but I don't do anything associated with Computer Engineering. One job I had I was Systems Programmer but I did not do any programming. So the titles for majors and for jobs in IT can be very confusing. Sometimes I will hear someone say they want to pursue Computer Science or Computer Engineering and once they find out what it involves they realize that is not what they want to do. If this is old info, that you already know, apologies. Here are the majors and some associated jobs:
Computer Science (CS) - A technical degree which usually has a Programming emphasis - people with this major usually are developing application software, web development, embedded code and robotics. Sometimes depending on the college the degree may cover some more general topics as listed under CIS below. CS is a difficult major and may include a number of advanced math courses. Many CS students find themselves not enjoying programming, not being gifted at it or not having the math and logic skills to be good at programming and they will switch out into CIS. CS majors that are able to graduate can also qualify for jobs listed below under CIS.
Computer Information Systems (CIS) - This may also be called a variety of other names like Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), etc. This is a general technical degree and is the degree that I have. Holders of these degree work in a variety of technical jobs like these:
Computer Technician, Service Center Coordinator, Help Desk Staff, Storage Administrator, Network Administrator, Systems Administrator, Systems Engineer, Enterprise Administrator, Active Directory Administrator, Exchange and Messaging Administrator, Backup Administrator, Disaster Recovery Specialist, Database Administrator, Computing Security Specialist, Corporate IT Acquisition Specialist and Data Center Administrator, just to name a few.
Computer Engineering - This is a technical engineering and design degree. These degree holders get jobs related to designing and manufacturing computer related hardware. Obviously when you think of hardware you think of laptops and PCs but this might be all kinds of computer devices like tablets, processors, memory, storage, networking equipment and components of computers.
Management Information Systems (MIS) - This is a business degree that prepares non-technically trained people to manage projects, budgets and people. Traditionally, senior IT technical pros would eventually be promoted into management positions after years of technical work. The good news is they understood technical challenges their people were working with but the bad news was that some were great tech people but poor people managers. I have had both types of these managers and the new trend is definitely towards these non-technical managers.
Hope this helps.
Best Wishes!
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