CashDeL

Ok, first of all I am going to state that I am only a freshman in High School so if you do not want to answer my questions right now than that is fine. I plan on going entering the engineering field for my future job. The one I find most interesting is EE. The reason I find EE very interesting is that I love computers. I have already built my own and know more than the IT people at my school (In my opinion).

Is EE a good field to enter around 2020 and what to the usually focus on?

Can EE be versatile and if the situation arises and I need to change engineering jobs to some other area of engineering, will a degree in EE fine for the job?

I did some research and found that EE does not pay as well as other engineering jobs, why is this? I currently live in Houston , Texas and found that the pay here is especially well compared to other areas of the US.

I am not going into this job for the money, but I am wondering what is the $ right out of college?

Final, do I need MS or will a BS be fine? For anyone who lives in Texas and is a EE please tell me your opinion of a good college with a good program for EE?

Other factors:
AP classes
My main goal in HS is to get a gpa of 5.0, yeah pretty high but I think If I work hard I can accomplish it.
I live in Houston, Texas.

PoppinBottlesMGT

Why EE and not Computer Engineering?

CashDeL

I want to be on the hardware side of things. Please elaborate on what Computer Engineering does so I have a better understanding. Thanks

Necrodox

From what I understand the two are interchangeable with minor differences in the required curriculum (though this can vary depending on the school).

I originally came into college pursuing a degree computer engineering but after reading around and talking to some of my professor (who were also engineers) I found out that a lot of these computer engineers ended up developing software and firmware and very little work in regards to hardware. I too am looking to pursue the hardware aspect of engineering because I find it most interesting.

As of now I have chosen to stick with Electrical Engineering and probably minor in Computer Science (simply to have the knowledge).

For those of you who are computer engineers feel free to tune in, I would love to read your insight on the matter.

PoppinBottlesMGT

I don't really know much about it, and the extent to which I do know, I think it depends on the program a bit.

I'm not doing either, I was just under the impression that Computer Hardware Engineering was a concentration within CE at a lot of schools, and that this might be more to your liking, but supposedly I'm wrong and I have no reason to doubt.

PoppinBottlesMGT

Oh, also, in 8 years, the field could look totally different, as could your interest. So, just don't feel like there is a rush.

eclark6

The first two years of CompE and EE are exactly the same at most schools, so you can defer that decision until you have taken several classes and decide what you like better.

CashDeL

Thanks everyone for the quick response! @Necrodox Thanks I will keep that in mind. @PoppinbottlesMGT I am not rushing through I just want to develop a sense of where my career might lead up to at the moment.

CashDeL

I looked into one of the degree plans at Cockrell School of Engineering@UT @Austin and found this undergraduate degree plan---http://www.engr.utexas.edu/attachments/ECE%2012_14%20Degree%20Plan.pdf

It seems like they have a degree plan were it is combines both EE and CompE. I do not really understand this, I looked on their website but little information is presentable.

cosmicfish

Probably, and who knows? A lot can change in 8 years!! Regardless, engineering will almost definitely still be better than the vast majority of college fields.

Engineering is largely a career of specialization, and while switching between specialties is sometimes possible (ex, I switched from antenna design to optics) switching between disciplines (like EE to Aerospace) is extremely difficult and will generally require not-insubstantial coursework.

There are a comparatively large number of EE's out there and a relatively large number of "easy" EE jobs. Ultimately, it is all supply and demand, but remember that while some fields make more money they almost all suffer from rougher working conditions (Petroleum E) or drastic ups and downs in the industry that can result in sporadic work (Aerospace). But all that could change by the time you graduate.

Pretty good, but I do not have numbers for you, especially not numbers that will be meaningful in 8 years.

It depends on your aspirations and specialty - some (like antenna engineering) are not well-covered in most undergrad programs and so employers usually want the MS. Regardless, most engineers will get a masters at some point, often by taking night classes at a nearby college. As for Texas, UT Austin is the best in the state for EE.

cosmicfish

That is not quite what they are showing. EE and CompE are often run out of the same department and taught by a single combined faculty, but they are still distinct degrees. EE's get a broader foundation that they then usually refine into one or more specializations in their last year, while CompE's lose much of the breadth but get more computer hardware and software courses. At most schools, EE's CAN still specialize in the area of computer hardware or software, but since they have to complete the broad core courses first they rarely achieve the depth that CompE majors do.

So the choice of EE vs CompE really depends on what you want to do - if you specifically want to work on computer hardware, CompE is probably the best choice. Regardless, when you get to college you can take the first couple of semesters exploring your options before you really need to decide.

hylyfe

why make the decision so soon? Going into my senior I coulda still easily switched to CE from EE and still graduated perfectly on time.