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To Be Or Not To Be A CET?
maxdamage asks: "After reading an earlier Ask Slashdot article and the responses, I am very worried about my future career plans. This fall I am going into CET, which is essentially a cross between a CS and an Electrical Engineering degree. According to these responses, CS majors are doomed to spend their lives waiting tables. Does a computer related engineering degree give hope or should I change to a more general engineering program, before its too late?"
Here is the short answer if you are looking for big money IPOs and have little interest in computing technologies above and beyond that then don't do it. If you have a real passion for how computers work both hardware and software then the CET degree is for you. Jobs are to be had but employers are wising up to the flakes that have plagued the industry for the past 10+ years.
I'm assuming your talking about the DeVry University program and as they are local I can only tell you my experiences in the Dallas area. They are profit motivated, the recruiters get paid commission (CET/EET/Bio are the most expensive programs), and they have a few teachers who ought to be elsewhere, their registration system blows rhinos. If you read all that and thought so I just want to learn then I would say don't worry any more about it and just go for it you will be glad you did.
10 years from now, the last thing you want to do is realize you majored in a subject you don't like and you followed a career path that doesn't suit you. Don't major based on the pay scale of job opportunities -- major based solely on what you want to be doing in 10 years. Choose a major and a career path that will make you happy, and you will rise above the pack.
If all you are interested in is money (which some people find an enjoyable pursuit), then you are in the wrong field. Get a law degree, accounting degree, or a business degree. Those tend to work with a lot of money, and they never have a short supply of it. No matter where our world goes, we'll always need lawyers, accountants, and businesspeople.
The radical sect of Islam would either see you dead or "reverted" to Islam.
And also, no degree will provide a guarantee of success.
The pluses and minuses have a lot more to do with your ability to get along with other people, your ability to think through problems properly, and your willingness to do the things you are asked to do.
Ultimately, I think that studying and working within two obscurely related disciplines will make your skills more valuable and usable though. Whether that's CS and EE though - the relationship is perhaps too obvious. CS and CE might be a more worthwhile choice right now.
My employer looks at a number of things that are not related your GPA, which school you went to, etc., when looking at new college grads:
1. Work ethic - are you willing to take responsibility for getting your work done, asking questions when you don't know something, willing to contribute when you have a good idea?
2. Ability to work in a team - we don't have any individual projects. Work with the team, try to get along with your co-workers.
3. language skills - do you speak a second language? In the industry in which I'm employed, a second language is very helpful, our customers are from all over the northern Hemisphere. A willingness to travel goes along with the language skills.
4. "business common sense" - like it or not, we're all in this for a profit. The path to this is keeping customers happy while making common sense business decisions.
It's my bet that if you can exhibit a number of these skills after you finish your BS degree, you should have no problem with getting a decent job. So while working through your CET degree, look for opportunities to improve your skills in these areas.
Hmmm - two 2 year degree programs do not equal a four year degree from a real college/university with a real Engineering program. Wonder if there's any correlation between that and your difficulty in getting a job?
"Choose a major and a career path that will make you happy, and you will rise above the pack."
Become a farmer. No one complains about them, and we certainly can't be outsourced. Plus you will be in touch with your roots (so to speak). People will be coming to you, TO YOU, to buy things. And yes farming is a very technical field, despite all the "image" in the media e.g. dumb hicks.
"No matter where our world goes, we'll always need lawyers, accountants, and businesspeople."
The same applies moreso to being a farmer (or rancher if that's your thing). All the above are you. You're your lawyer (within reason), accountant, and you most certainly are a businessman. So come on down, sit a spell, drink some moonshine, and we can talk about your new career.
It seems to my a physicist would say something very different than what you are saying regarding applied versus theoretical approaches. Physics in the theorical aspect of science, Engineering is the applied science.
Your equation example is also off the mark. An Engineer would first analyze the variables of a situation that affect a problem, then determine which approach is required that best addresses the variables of the problem. At this point, using an equation to solve a problem is trvial, it's understanding how to set up the problem and how to apply the proper approach that is the differentiator here.
Let's face it, engineering technology degree holders are in competition with the bosses' nephew who needs a job after flunking out of college and says he can "fix computers" or "make a web page". It's a tough market to be in. To be fair, Engineering degree holders are facing competition from the ET people who excel at hteir jobs, and from overseas engineers who will do their job cheaper.
My point exactly. Electronics. Got it. See you in the unemployment line.
I was discouraged by so many people (even my own Uni!) when I went into IT 125 years ago that it was not funny. All of them were wrong of course.
Look, doom scenarios are normaly wrong, what you read here is mostly innacurate tosh, specially when it comes to outsourcing and levels of unemployment.
Only the bitter and unemployed have the time to rant, all the others are too busy making a living.
Success is combined with a lot of luck, of which you have no control.
So study whatever you want, enjoy it, and drop the idea that what you learn will somehow 100% influence what you earn.
There are people with no education whatsoever who became millionares for having one good idea or for being in the right place at the right time.
IANAL but write like a drunk one.
What's your point? The original question was about whether to get a CET - which was stated as a cross between a CS and Electrical Engineering degree. Maybe I'm assuming the original question is referring to a four year Bachelors degree and you're assuming it's a two year associates degree.
If that's the case, at the risk of pissing off a lot of readers here, I suggest the 4 year Bachelors degree is the way to go. The things that make you employable with a two year associates degree will also make you employable with a four year Bachelors degree. You will have a lot more opportunity with a four year degree. Anecdotally, in the business unit in which I work, we have 4 people with associate degrees and 76 people with at least a Bachelors degree. That ratio probably applies through out the 15,000 people working for my employer.
As I pointed out elsewere. Farmers diversify into other crops, or meats e.g. ostrich meat, strawberries. Heck, some farmers are going into fish farming. I wouldn't recommend the professhion for anyone afraid of hard work. And the answer to your question is yes, but then any suggestion of going into business is going to involve financial risk. The question is how much risk can one handle?