ST: Computer Industry Careers
Computer Engineering
Computer engineers and electrical engineers design, build, test, and evaluate new computer chips, circuit boards, computer systems, and peripheral devices. The goal of computer engineering is to produce computing devices that run efficiently and economically. Different kinds of engineers handle different aspects of the production process:
Development engineers often work in Research and Development departments of computer firms coming up with new product ideas. Design engineers work with development engineers to design the actual product. Production engineers supervise the production process (and associated staff) in manufacturing the product once it has been designed. More than any other, this type of engineering requires management as well as engineering skills. Quality Assurance engineers control the production process, making sure that the product is manufactured properly and that no flaws occur in production. There are a few different specialties within design engineering including:
- Device development: Electrical engineers do device developing. A device is a tiny electronic component such as a transistor that, when combined with other components, forms a circuit. A circuit, such as those found on silicon chips or printed circuit boards, is an electronic system designed to perform a particular logical function. Some design engineers specialize in creating circuits, designing them so that they will perform specialized functions and behave in stable and predictable ways. Today, most circuits are contained on silicon chips, making the actual circuitry microscopic in size. Chip designers, integrated circuit designers, and logic designers are all involved in circuit design.
- Computer hardware engineering: These engineers design actual computers by combining circuitry so that the various functions of the component circuits work together to perform larger functions. Much of computer engineering takes place on the level of microprocessors and other specialized boards which add functionality to a computer (graphics, audio, and networking boards, for instance).
Engineers often use Computer Aided Design (CAD) to produce and analyze designs. Computer-aided design is made possible by powerful design software, automating the drafting and design process for mechanical and electronic applications. With CAD, engineers can create three-dimensional models of objects which can then be manipulated by computer. As a result, the engineer can experiment with different designs that would be too costly to produce manually. Computer engineers also have to know some programming languages. Most engineers in the computer field have at minimum a B. S. in Electrical or Computer Engineering, with additional graduate course work (or a masters degree) necessary to keep up with advances in the field. Salaries are likely to range from $35,000 to $84,000 per year.
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