Introduction
Technology is currently part and parcel of the everyday life. As such, people need to venture into careers that will ensure they meet the competitiveness of the market. Technology is applicable in various sectors such as dispatch of information, banking and learning. The course entails the coding of firmware and programs applied in embedded software, coding of information protection and cryptography (Chubin, May, & Babco, 2005).
Computer engineering technology is a profession that combines a variety of computer science, information technology that is necessary in development of computer software and hardware. The computer engineering professionals are always equipped with skills in software design and development, electrical engineering; and both software and hardware integration. The profession entails a number of software and hardware computing aspect from personal computers, circuit design and microprocessors (Denning, 2001).
Insight computer engineering profession
As a prospective engineer, one should be glad to hear that statistics has shown that computer engineers are among the highly paid professionals in the world. The need for technological development and unique skills for innovation is the primary force that makes the professional such lucrative. The amount that a bachelor’s degree graduate earns depends of various factors. This includes the area of specialization, the nature and size of the employing company, and expertise that one has in areas. Getting employment with extensive computer technology companies such as IBM, Microsoft or Google will pay approximately $ 8000 a month (Denning, 2001). However, the amount paid largely depends on the number of hours that one works. Mostly, working extra time can earn one a lot of money. The amount also differs according to different countries. For instance, a computer engineering bachelor’s degree graduate in UK can is twice as that in a country like India. For instance, according to indeed.com, a computer engineer in San Francisco earns $ 107000, whereas that in New York earns $109000. In Iowa, a software engineer is paid an average of $71000. According to salary.com, a computer engineer salary progresses basing on the job title, experience and responsibilities. A computer engineer earns $57576 while a computer hardware engineer class V earns approximately $ 119849. The same is applicable for computer engineers who have specialist in software engineering (Denning, 2001).
Computer engineering is broadly divided into two areas. There is the hardware engineering and software engineering. Computer hardware engineering involves the research, design development and testing of computer hardware equipment. It ranges from microcontrollers and routers to circuit boards. The engineers are also responsible for innovation and updating of computer hardware so that it meets the current work load and efficiency requirements (Gotterbarn, Miller, & Rogerson, 2010). Hardware engineers spend most of their time in high tech- hardware manufacturing firms and computer research laboratories. On the other hand, software engineers design, develop and carry out test on different software programs and firmware. A software engineer can be employed to design develop and carry out maintenance of the company’s computer programs or systems. They can also be in charge of company’s intranets. A software engineer can ensure computer security through installation of patches, new software version or upgrading the company’s computer system. Application design is also another area there one can work as a software engineer. Application design is where new software such as operating systems is developed. The developers ensure that the application always meets the client’s needs (Bourque et al., 1999).
The subjects that one needs to perform well in order to do the course are physics, mathematics and computer studies. Mathematics and physics are critical since it will enable an individual to have a solid foundation of engineering mathematics. Computer studies will enable speedy internalization of computer aspects. One should also be proficient in English since documentation is a key factor in computer or software engineering. Documentation is an important aspect as the procedures that should be followed in many computer tasks should be put down. One should be proficient in the language with which documentation will be written. In most cases, documentation is written in English because it is the official language. It is used in many parts of the world (Bourque et al., 1999).
The computer technological advances and innovation are radical. As such, computer engineering is the most appropriate profession since computer technology is the basis of most technological advances. Research shows that, despite the influx of the expert from different engineering areas towards the computer field, there is still a need for computer engineering professional. The primary reason is the diversity and flexibility of a computer engineer. A computer engineer who has specialized is one area for instance networking can change to software with a lot of ease. The job growth for computer engineering professionals is projected to be higher and faster for individuals who specializes I software engineering than hardware engineers. The statistics released by the Bureau of Labor shows that more that 21% job growth rate is predicted in the next decade. The growth rate is the highest of all the occupations (Bourque et al., 1999).
An undergraduate degree or bachelor’s degree in computer engineering takes between four to five years. The course gives a solid foundation of computer engineering in the first two years of the study. The foundation gives the student a basis of choosing on what to key in. One can concentrate on either software or hardware. Alternatively, one can undertake a crush program where the whole course is completed in three to three and half years (Rogerson, 2010).
One can obtain a graduate degree in computer engineering from various universities. For instance, DeVry University one can take the graduate degree courses on campus or online. The graduate classes in DeVry University are thought by faculty staff that has broad experience in the field. The students also have the opportunities of collaborating and interacting with students from different employment areas (Babco, 2005). A student who graduates with a master’s degree in one of the computing engineering courses gets skills to develop state of the art cell phones, security equipment, and medical equipment and consumer products such as iPod (Salvendy, 2012).
Graduate degree in computer engineering is offered in various universities across the world. The most prevalent university that offers the course both on-campus and online are Walden university, university of Phoenix, Colorado technical university and north central university. Many online computer programs are being introduced in many universities.
Conclusion
References
Chubin, D. E., May, G. S., & Babco, E. L. (2005). Diversifying the engineering workforce. Journal of Engineering Education, 94(1), 73-86.
Denning, P. J. (2001). The profession of IT: who are we? Communications of the ACM, 44(2), 15-19.
Gotterbarn, D., Miller, K., & Rogerson, S. (2010). Computer society and ACM approve software engineering code of ethics. Computer, 32(10), 84-88.
Salvendy, G. (2012). Handbook of human factors and ergonomics. Wiley.
Bourque, P., Dupuis, R., Abran, A., Moore, J. W., & Tripp, L. (1999). The guide to the software engineering body of knowledge. Software, IEEE, 16(6), 35-44.
