<p>hi there,
i was wondering what kind of jobs people with a degree in computer engineering can get after undergrad or maybe even PHD ? do a majority of people actually end up working for intel/amd/whatever designing chips or computer parts?</p>
<p>''designing chips or computer parts''</p>
<p>well one can do that also by being a EE.</p>
<p>thats my main question I guess...</p>
<p>whats the difference between EE and CE ?</p>
<p>CE is a more specialized version of EE. It focuses on computers whereas EE is electronics in general.</p>
<p>I am thinking about doing nanorobotics, is CE adequate?</p>
<p>Having been through the process, I can tell you that jobs at Intel or AMD are quite competitive (thousands of applicants, 10's of positions), so actually only a very small percentage of CE grads end up working for those two particular companies. But there are many many other companies that hire CEs. You can get jobs working both on the hardware and software side of things as a CE, it's very versatile. For example you may work on embedded devices, digital signal processors, flash memory, CPUs, and other ICs (integrated circuits). </p>
<p>RHS, that question is awkward. Can you do MEMS as a CE? Absolutely. You will however need to cross-train by taking some additional classes in other disciplines though.</p>
<p>morfinx,</p>
<p>Sorry for the ambiguous question. Would I be qualified and have enough training to do research in nanorobotics as a CE major and master's degree? What's MEMS? I will be considering a second major in chemistry or physics.</p>
<p>MEMS is Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems, nanorobotics would be an application of MEMS. Yes you can major as a CE major. You'll want to go to grad school if you want to do MEMS tho. You will need to take several microelectronic fabrication/packaging courses, as well as semiconductor physics, which are generally listed under EE. Some MEMS courses may also be cross listed under Mechanical Engineering. </p>
<p>MEMS uses all conventional IC fab technologies (ie thermal oxidation, ion implantation, vapor deposition etc) as well as additional MEMS technologies like bulk micromachining, surface micromachining, layer bonding etc. It's very interesting stuff.</p>
<p>CE is EE and CS, You can do work in EE or work in CS or both. Thats why it was created. If you are worried then do what I do Computer and Electrical engineering dual major.</p>
<p>Hey its 3 more classes.</p>
<p>Physics 3/ or Nanotechnology
Electromagnetic theory
Advanced electronics circuits labs.</p>
<p>All pretty cool classes, so I cant complain.</p>
<p>The chances of you landing a job at Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Sun, Solaris, Oracle and other huge firms, is close to none.</p>
<p>After you graduate with a CE or EE or any type of engineering, you need to pass the FE exam and then the PE exam.</p>
<p>
<p>After you graduate with a CE or EE or any type of engineering, you need to pass the FE exam and then the PE exam.
</p>
<p>While it's very competitive, it's not impossible. Just as it's very competitive to get accepted at a prestigious university, it's very competitive to get a position at a prestigious company. The best advice I can give to people who want to work for one of these companies is to go to one of the schools they recruit at. This usually means a top 20 program or a decent program that is near the location of the company. This will drastically increase your chances. Although there are occasional exceptions to this rule (ie NVidia is in Santa Clara, CA, yet it hires 25% of its interns from University of Waterloo, which is in Canada).</p>
<p>CE and EE generally do not require a license (to OP, that's what the FE/PE exams are for), in fact most CE/EE don't take the FE exam at all.</p>
<p>morfinx</p>
<p>who told you that, you can be a full engineer if ya dont have that seal.</p>
<p>UB- Morfinx is right. Professional Engineering licensure is only required for those engineers whose designs must be submitted for plan check/review.</p>
<p>In general, this includes civil, structural, fire protection, and electrical engineers who design building/structure electrical plans.</p>
<p>This does not include computer engineers, nor does it include the vast majority of electrical engineers. Hence, ABET accreditation for these fields is gravy, and doesn't particularly matter.</p>
<p>State licensure is generally required for engineers that design permanently installed, customized facilities. But it is generally not required for engineers that design portable, mass-produced products. Most EEs and CompEs fall into the latter category.</p>
<p>Power engineering is probably the only branch of EE where engineering licensure is common or important. A large majority of EEs, and probably virtually all CompEs, are unlicensed. </p>
<p>For example, you would not need a PE license to design a server, or a chip, or server software. But you probably would need an PE license to design the power systems for a server farm or a chip fab plant. </p>
<p>ABET accreditation is not really valuable if you are not seeking licensure. However, EE BS programs normally do have such accreditation, because they know that at least some of their grads will pursue a license. I would be very surprised to find a legitimate EE BS program that lacked ABET accreditation (does anyone know of such a thing?) However, legitimate non-ABET programs are common in Computer Science (where there is no state licensure), and it wouldn't surprise me if they exist in Computer Engineering as well.</p>
<p>To put PE numbers in perspective, consider the following statistics for the State of California:</p>
<p>Total state employment numbers in 2004:</p>
<ul>
<li>21,200 electrical engineers</li>
<li>27,700 electronics engineers</li>
<li>22,100 computer hardware engineers</li>
</ul>
<p>New PE licenses (in applicable disciplines) issued in 2004:</p>
<ul>
<li>160 Electrical PEs</li>
<li>5 Control Systems PEs</li>
</ul>
<p>as stated, you don't need to worry about the PE exam if you're an EE</p>
<p>
[quote]
The chances of you landing a job at Intel, AMD, Microsoft, Sun, Solaris, Oracle and other huge firms, is close to none.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>All Engineering majors have a shot at IT Consulting/programming jobs at Accenture etc. I work with a few who are from a engineering background and do IT programming/analysis/design/architecture work, making ~100K</p>