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Careers in the field of computer engineering appear tough to anyone looking to go into
the profession, and even to those who have no interest at all. Computers represent a necessary
factor in society today in order for our cities and governments to function. This fact makes
computer engineering more promising in order to keep up with the demand of computers.
Although the career mentally strains people, it still appeals to certain people because of how
much freedom it involves, and a strong feeling of accomplishment after the job comes to an end.
Computers continually and rapidly grow, and it does not look like that is going to change any
time soon. Computer engineering will definitely offer a plethora of jobs with a four year college
degree, and should prove beneficial to anyone interested in having this profession.
The process of computer engineering functions as an essential part in modern society.
Computer engineers do not get enough credit for what they do sometimes, because some think
they just build laptops and computers, but they also design and create the devices that go into
phones, televisions, and alarm clocks. Not only do these little devices contain small computers,
but computers today go into cars, planes, and even spaceships. Most people cannot go a day
without interacting with at least one or two computers. Computer engineers focus on the physical
aspects of a computer, and make sure that everything functions correctly while someone else
designs the software (Basnet; Jinsoo 68). Since computers grow constantly, computer engineers
always need to continue learning and innovating in order to keep up with all the continually
changing parts.
Computers did not always play a big role in society, but have grown rapidly throughout
the last ten years. Computers started getting integrated into society because of how much easier
and faster work got accomplished with them. They grew quickly and immensely, as did the
production of stronger and faster computers. Today computers function as a study tool,

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entertainment device, and even as a calendar. This makes them so important to society, and the
computer engineers that build the computers. If computers disappeared from our hands at this
moment many countries would have trouble contacting their citizens, people would lose a lot of
their money that they had in the banks, and the world would fall into a horrible and extensive
period of chaos.
Getting a good college degree poses a very important and essential part to starting this
career, and it truly teaches someone how to perform well in the profession. College enables
students to function well in their career of choice, and it remains imperative to anyone looking
for a job in computer engineering to this day. Some of the best colleges for the degree consist of
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, although the top rated
colleges to go to for the degree in the North Carolina area consist of North Carolina State
University and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. These few represent many great
universities that offer this degree, and will properly teach you how to perform in the career.
After someone successfully receives their undergraduate degree for computer
engineering, they might consider trying to get a graduate degree in the field. A graduate degree in
this field constantly manifests itself as an extremely useful tool. A graduate degree can help
provide a much higher level of knowledge than before, it can help get a higher paying job, and it
looks a lot better to employers when they compare resumes with other applicants. Graduate
degrees do not act as a necessary factor when going into the career of computer engineering, but
often prove useful when looking for work because you stand out from all of the rest. A graduate
degree gives you more knowledge for the career enabling you to perform more prominently in it.
The United States represents a place where a lot of the main components of many
computers, smartphones, and tablets come to life, but not the only place. Many foreign countries

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have large companies that continually look for computer engineers, especially Great Britain
which sometimes gets forgotten. The hardware engineers work on the inside of computers and in
Great Britain they mainly focus on mobile processors, and designs for them. However, in order
to work in most places in Great Britain a hopeful employee should possess an undergraduate
degree in the computer engineering field (Andrews 1). Computer engineering truly has a wide
market that even spreads overseas to other countries which opens up more jobs if they become
short in the United States.
Most careers present many challenges, especially in computer engineering. Many people
view computer engineering as high stress work due to the work relying on the demand of the
people. This demand requires engineers to work quickly in order to get more, new and faster
products out onto the market (Andrews 2). Not to mention if work gets done under a large
industry name, the reputation of the companies successfulness relies on the quality of the work
that gets done, making the job much more stressful than before. Hard work provides a lot of
rewards, with the average salary of computer hardware engineers reaching around 100,000
dollars a year (Bureau of Labor Statistics). The job of a computer engineer might seem stressful
and difficult, but it never fails to enthrall.
A computer hardware engineers job often consists of more than just putting parts of a
computer together in a certain order. They frequently have to design a lot of the processors,
computer chips, and even circuit boards. The job also requires them to monitor the installation of
all the manufactured components. Although computer engineers work well with building
computers, they hardly do anything else. They work strictly with computers and all of their
processes and components (Electrical Engineering). The job outlook for the career might pose a
problem for future computer engineers because of the foreign competition, but it should not

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affect anyone that will move to another country if needed. All around the world countries will
accept almost all degrees from colleges in the United States and vice versa.
The wonderful thing about receiving a computer engineering degree is the broadness of
the degree. Although it seems very narrow, more careers actually start with getting a computer
engineering degree. This degree sets the basis of learning for software developers, computer
scientists, or even an information technology specialist. They all would require further teaching
from a higher learning academy, but can all start with getting a degree in computer engineering.
A graduate degree makes people going into this career feel safer about their options in case of
job loss. Most people like to always have a backup plan just in case of unforeseen problems.
Computer engineers also spend a good part of their time adjusting things that they, or
other computer engineers have already built. Computers can easily break every now and then,
and computer engineers help people with that problem by assisting them in fixing their
computers. The engineer would first start by diagnosing the problem with the computer, and then
do whatever they could to fix the problem that they found with the computer. Computers have
many tiny parts and can easily break, so the computer engineer must find the broken parts and fix
them, and do whatever possible to make sure that it will not break again. Hopefully after fixing
these issues a few times, the computer engineer will design a new product that fixes a lot of the
common issues with the previous model of the computer. Computer engineers have to learn to
adapt in order to stay successful and current in the career. If they cannot provide better and faster
products, then they will get beaten out by those who can.
Throughout much of the recent history, countries that show strong technological learning
tend to appear more developed than countries that do not (Basnet; Jinsoo 66). Countries that are
more developed use computers a lot more throughout and it demonstrates their wealth. Although

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computers make everything much easier and faster, they also can get very expensive. Faster
products cost more, but allow for more efficient use of the technology. So, if a comet flew
towards the earth, the country with the fastest computer and analyst could figure out what it was
and report on it before anyone else had the chance. Computers help countries learn rapidly and
get word of drastic events quickly. This technology sustains its usefulness because of horrible
weather events like hurricanes and tsunamis that all can get picked up by computers and
someone reading the data on them. Computers ensure the safety of many people every day.
Computer engineers could have a hard time finding work in the future, which might
cause a problem. A study showed that out of seventy students, fifty seven percent of them
obtained employment after college, thirty seven remained unemployed, and eight and six tenths
percent went on to higher learning. The competition level looks hard, but with good grades
associated with the degree it should not pose a problem. If necessary, obtaining a graduate degree
can assist someone who fears not getting a job, or fears losing it to someone else who might have
more qualifications than they do.
Many successful companies look to hire people that have a large amount of skills in this
field. Companies like Intel and Advanced Micro Devices need people with skills and experience
to perform well, and create the best products for their consumers. A company that trusts their
workers to make strong reliable products gets the most income, based on sheer product quality
alone. In order for these companies to find out who contains the proper qualities to work there,
they will look at where the person learned how to perform well in the career, and at the history
they have in the career. Companies need highly qualified workers to work for them in order to
turn the best possible profit, and they reward the workers with a portion of their profit in the
form of a paycheck.

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One of the most important factors in understanding and performing well in this career is
experience. Experience gives a person time to learn about their profession hands-on, and learn
how to avoid mistakes that people made in the past. The importance of obtaining experience in
the field remains one of the biggest reasons why some people get a job in this field and some
remain unemployed. Someone who presents with more experience looks better because they
have learned more, and will not make as many mistakes like someone without experience. Not
possessing the proper experience will not stop someone from getting a job, because everyone
starts somewhere, but it would just look better if they took something like an internship.
The job outlook for the computer engineering profession contains great potential due to a
decline in information technology specialists in recent years. The United States Department of
Labor suspected in the year 2005 that the United States would need approximately one and a half
million more information technology specialists by the year 2006 (Brooks). This factor makes
the career of computer engineering more of a suitable career since the number of specialists in
the career have fallen. If less people work in the field, then jobs become easier to find and
acquire due to the lack of others to fill the job openings.
This drastic drop will lead to employers needing to search for employees, and maybe
even try and convince people to take computer engineering instead of programming so they can
work for their company. Corporate managers will need to start asking their children to study this
profession just so they can continue a successful corporation. However, the Wall Street Journal
says that the shortage will not continue, and an increase of forty percent lies in the near future
(Brooks). The profession gives the perception of a promising career choice, but that does not
mean that a person going into the career choice should slack off. A competitor looking to get the
same job could still beat them if they have more qualifications for the occupation.

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Computer hardware engineering operates just like any other career in the fact that it has
challenges and rewards. The engineers often face a strict time schedule that puts a lot of stress on
them, especially if they work for a large company (Andrews). The work appears tough and
mentally taxing, but it always contains an exciting work environment. Although the job requires
a plethora of work to get done, it does not fall short when it comes to receiving a reward.
Computer engineers that have experience and work hard get a reward in return with their
paycheck. The average paycheck for a computer engineer ranges around one hundred thousand a
year and definitely makes the job worth the tough work (Bureau of Labor Statistics). In order for
someone to have success in this career, they need a passion for computers, and they especially
need to have a strong work ethic.
Receiving an A+ certification represents a very important factor in getting a higher
paying salary, and having the ability to work for companies like Dell, Lenovo, and Intel. This
certification remains important because certain companies require it just to perform service on
their products (CompTIA). This makes it almost necessary for someone looking to go into the
career to get this certification so they can get paid better, and have the ability to perform service
on some of the top producers products. In order for someone to get this certification they usually
work in the field for around one year, although getting the certification does not require any
experience, and many people recommend it.
Getting the certification sounds basic, but it actually requires the passing of two exams
before receiving the certification. The tests typically last around ninety minutes long, and they
consist of no more than ninety questions each. The tests do not pose a significant issue to anyone
looking to go into the career, but many people would advise spending a substantial amount of
time studying for the exams. The tests cover topics about the basics of computer technology, and

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they cover information on all the hardware that goes into computers, laptops, and mobile devices
(CompTIA). Sometimes the tests cover things like operating systems, but just the basics as it
starts nearing the software side of computers. Once someone passes these tests, they are given
the certification for three years.
Contract workers make up a decent portion of the people who graduated with a degree in
computer engineering. These workers work independently and make their living off of
performing services on computers, and sometimes building them for others. This choice makes
the worker more independent, but if they do not strive to do hard work then they could find it
hard to make a proper living. Also, these contract workers do not get the same knowledge that
those who work for companies get. The people who work independently often struggle with
keeping up with new technology as they do not receive regular updates about new innovations
that come into the world of computers (Elmore). If someone possesses the interest in working
alone, they must retain the necessary qualities to keep themselves updated and always continue
to learn about new innovations.
Some companies want only the best people working on the products that they sell, so
these companies require certification to work on their products professionally. Companies like
Dell give people certification to work on their products because they want their consumers to
have only trusted personnel working on their products. The companies usually only do this with
their employees and it lasts even after they leave the company. The ability to get certified comes
from learning courses that Dell, or any other computer company that requires certification,
provides.
This career offers a special benefit in that the job changes from day to day. In this
profession the job requires different things to get done, and some days they stay the same, and

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some days they do not. The job can consist of working on hardware, regular maintenance, and
even the occasional informational session. This job allows the worker to have freedom in what
they choose to do, unless that person works under a boss. The ability to not need to accomplish
the same task everyday remains something that makes this profession stand out among the rest.
Even if the person works for a company they would still do something different every day
because the needs of people always change. This career will not get boring because of the
freedom it enables workers to have, and the constantly changing schedule will not make the
employee get bored with their job.
Patience exemplifies a very important characteristic of people looking to go into this
profession. Someone who builds computers for a living cannot rush the process as it could risk
damaging the parts of the computer. Computers contain many fragile parts that get broken easily
because of simple mistakes, like putting it together too fast. If someone does not take their time
with something like the central processing unit of the computer, they might bend a pin and end
up ruining the computer as a whole. Every part of the computer performs a specific task in order
for the entire computer to function, and if just one thing gets messed up then the computer will
not work. If the employee or contractor does not have patience then they might accidentally mess
something up from rushing so much.
Sometimes the issues of work space and carefulness come into play when working on a
computer. All work done on the hardware of a computer gets completed on the inside of the
computer case, and most cases try to leave all the parts in there as compact as possible so space
to work inside of the case gets limited. The little space inside of the case and the amount of
patience it takes to build a computer pose as two of the hardest issues to deal with while working

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on computers in the field. These problems can easily get avoided as long as the person working
on the computer always acts patiently and carefully when handling any of the hardware that goes
into the case.
Computer engineering definitely will take a lot of time to learn, and a lot of patience and
focus to remain successful in the field. The career shows promising futures for those who might
consider going into the field, and many options once there (Electrical and Computer
Engineering). Someone looking to go into this field must obtain experience either by internship,
or a first job, before going on and becoming truly successful. Computer engineering might
appear tough at first glance, but with proper education at a four year university, the mentally
taxing program will pay off once the first few paychecks get deposited into the bank.
Works Cited
Andrews, Stuart. "So You Want To Be A...Hardware Engineer." PC Pro 215 (2012): 070.
MasterFILE Complete. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
<http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=1a933241-d5b7-43e5-b8b1-b9aa2d4
6c997%40sessionmgr4002&vid=19&hid=4204&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGN1c3R
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%3d#db=f6h&AN=83067158>.
Basnet, Kul Bahadur, and Jinsoo Kim. "An Assessment Of The "Diploma In Computer
Engineering" Course In The Technical Education System In Nepal." Journal Of Stem
Teacher Education 47.2 (2010): 65-88. ERIC. Web. 4 Jan. 2015.
<http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ930127>.

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Bidwell, Matthew J., and Forrest Briscoe. "Who Contracts? Determinants Of The Decision To
Work As An Independent Contractor Among Information Technology Workers."
Academy Of Management Journal 52.6 (2009): 1148-1168. Business Source Complete.
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Brooks Suzukamo, Leslie. "Decline In IT Professionals A Concern." Saint Paul Pioneer Press
(MN) (2005): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 6 Jan. 2015.
<http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=1a933241-d5b7-43e5-b8b1-b9aa2d4
6c997%40sessionmgr4002&vid=29&hid=4204&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLGN1c3R
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%3d#db=n5h&AN=2W61179142682>.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. "Summary." Occupational Outlook Handbook. U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 04 Jan. 2015.
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CompTIA. "CompTIA A+." CompTIA A+ Certification. CompTIA Inc, Jan. 2014. Web. 25 Feb.
2015.<http://certification.comptia.org/getCertified/certifications/a.aspx>.
"Electrical and Computer Engineering." Electrical and Computer Engineering. Ed. Purdue
University. Purdue University Calumet, 22 June 2012. Web. 05 Jan. 2015.
<http://webs.purduecal.edu/ece/undergraduate-programs/career-outlook/>.
Elmore, Cathy. Personal Interview. 25 February 2015

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