<p>Hey there, as you can probably tell by my name i'm a Student at Ohio State University.</p>
<p>I'm a sophmore and currently I have a double major in Business/Accounting.</p>
<p>However, i've still been looking around at other options, one of which is Computer or Software engineering. I'm very good with computers, and I enjoy taking them a apart and building faster and more powerful ones etc, so naturally i'd like to consider computer engineering :D</p>
<p>I have some questions - </p>
<ol>
<li><p>I see a lot about how engineers get pigeonholed into the same salary and get stuck there, what is the median salary for Computer/Software engineers and is it pretty much stagnant?</p></li>
<li><p>How much does a Masters degree help with salary/job placement?</p></li>
<li><p>Currently my prospects are to Join a big 4 accounting firm and then work my way up, or get into private accounting, would you recommend that as a better career choice?</p></li>
<li><p>What kind of things happen in the normal day of a Computer/Software engineer?</p></li>
<li><p>What are the hours of a computer/software engineer?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Our issue is that these same questions have been asked tons of times, and that this site has a search function. But hell, I’ll answer them anyway to the best of my knowledge.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>If you decide to stay on the technical career path, yes, your salary will remain stagnant. Many decide to shift into management-like positions later, though, which often entails more pay. Most of the kids from my school seem to start from $50k/year (two-bit code monkeys for companies that want a cool-looking website) to $90k/year (Microsoft, Amazon, Google, etc). </p></li>
<li><p>These are poor reasons to decide to go to grad school, but generally, they’ll add a good $8-10k to your starting salary and make you more desirable to companies with more elitist hiring practices (google “google interviews”).</p></li>
<li><p>I’ll be blunt; it’s probably more stable, and pays about as much. Accountants are certified/licensed professionals who gain valuable experience throughout their careers, while software/computer engineers have to deal with their knowledge going obsolete at a markedly faster rate. Although many computer guys do a good job at keeping themselves up-to-date, it’s still something to keep in mind if you’re not too passionate about computers.</p></li>
<li><p>Coding (sometimes), writing algorithms (sometimes), filling out time reports (sometimes), managing lower-level code monkeys (sometimes), debugging the last guy’s crappy code (sometimes), testing (sometimes), and much more (sometimes). It depends on the job. </p></li>
<li><p>Again, depends on the job/company. I’ve heard stories about Silicon Valley start-up engineers deciding to just sleep under their own desks, and I’ve heard stories about government database administrators working a 9-5 with plenty of “not doing anything” time.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Then again, what the hell do I know? I’m studying ME. Excuse me while I go bathe in grease.</p>
<p>Talking about OSU.
14th OSU vs 7th UO, this weekend, for all the marbles.
If OSU wins, they get to play OSU.
If UO wins, then they get to play OSU.</p>
<p>I have been a “computer engineer” since 1984 and I agree with Calcozzo. Continuing education is very important if you want to stay technical. This is not easy as you get older and your priorities change. If you don’t take the steps to transition into management then you can get stuck.</p>
<p>Another reality that can not be ignored is that an average American computer engineer can be replaced with 5 young, energetic and educated engineers in China or India or Eastern Europe. I have been strongly encouraging my children to stay away from this field and instead focus on science/math for undergraduate study.</p>
<p>I have nothing against foreign engineers but the reality can not be ignored. Every time I visit Shenzhen or Bangalore it feels like silicon valley of late 70’s and 80’s.</p>
<p>Really? man that make me worried. I’m thinking of becoming electrical engineering and if that happen to all engineering disclipine, is that mean our future is in trouble?</p>
<p>Not at all. I was not trying scare anyone with my statements. Salary estimates should not be the main reason for studying engineering.</p>
<p>IMHO, USA still has the best engineering schools in the world but when you go to any of these schools you will notice that most graduate students are foreign students. These foreign graduate students have been the prime force behind most engineering innovations in this country.</p>
<p>I don’t think there is a fixed recipe for this. It all depends on the individual, the company and the kind the management role one is interested in. Bigger companies facilitate different career paths and it is easier to get the necessary training (part-time MBA etc.) on the job. </p>
<p>I think if you take every opportunity you get to play a leadership role (not necessarily as a manager) then it is easier to make the transition.</p>
<p>One of the main reasons for this is the lack of quality undergrad engineers from the US applying into graduate programs in the US. I’m certain there are plenty of students that graduated in India the same year as me and are plenty smarter, but I still had no problems getting into a number of top 10 schools in my graduate field. I feel the big reason we’re seeing so many foreign students is that our top students choose not to pursue an advanced degree in engineering is because they have other, more lucrative careers which are more easily accessible.</p>
<p>Most domestic top students see some of the more lucrative options like consulting and banking and how you only need your B.S. and great grades to do that and you make a ton of money right off the bat and compare it to the prospects of getting 2 years worth of M.S. and a lower salary or 4 to 6 years worth of Ph.D. and getting a comparable salary to those other jobs. You have to be very devoted to your field to willingly pass up that higher salary with less training. It seems to me that foreign students are more likely to do that for a number of reasons, but one of the big ones I see is that in a lot of those other countries, being a scientist is a more prestigious career, whereas here, being an investment banker (in the eyes of a lot of people) is just as prestigious as being a research scientist, if not more prestigious for some people. That is the mindset that has to change before the U.S. will start graduating a bunch of top notch engineers and scientists that actually remain in technical fields.</p>
<p>I am not sure but I don’t think so. I think opportunities for people with just the BS in basic sciences are far fewer than with an engineering degree. They have to continue their education to get a better paying job, comparable to engineers with undergraduate degrees.</p>
<p>I think this is a blessing in disguise - not only you get a strong footing in fundamentals (physics, chemistry and math) but also end up getting an advanced degree in the subject of your choice - science or engineering. This is my thinking behind encouraging my children to pursue study of science.</p>
<p>I’d guess this is true for bio and chem majors, but since physics majors tend to have just as much (if not more) math than engineering majors they probably have similar opportunities as most engineers out there.</p>
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<p>The only problem with this is assuming you’re going to want an advanced degree. I have plenty of friends that had planned on grad school when they started college, but by the time they were done were so sick of classwork and being in an academic setting they did everything they could to land a good job. Personally, I’d have gone crazy if I did my undergrad in physics instead of materials science (and I’m a physics minor!).</p>
