Edit: GUYS I really need to emphasize this, I don't mind having some AI use at my job, it is a useful tool. I just really want to avoid what's happening in software. There, the entire job is being a Claude wrapper. Design documents? All AI. Code? Must be fully AI. Tickets? AI. The monotony has been driving me so insane.

First off, lemme preface this by saying I know EE are not going to be replaced by AI, or if it somehow happened nothing would be safe. That isn't what I'm concerned about.

What I want to do is pick a specialization that is least likely to have me open Claude code every single day.

Using it as a better google, etc. Is fine, but coding with it *is not fun*. Not for me. I can't sit in front of Claude Code all day. I like coding by hand, but I genuinely gave Claude Code a try for coding and I immediately knew I *can't* do this for the rest of my career. Apparently over in r/FPGA Claude is writing all their RTL as well, so FPGA isn't safe from Claude.

What fields should I go into that I won't devolve into a Claude Code wrapper?

I am a final year undergraduate in Electronics and Communication Engineering, and during a recent interview I was labelled as “logically inept and unfit for any company.”

The reason was that I could not recall the exact syntax for a two pointer approach to a palindrome array problem. However, I explained the logic, walked through pseudocode, and that part was accepted.

They also asked me some aptitude based riddles. I am honestly abysmal at those, but by luck the questions happened to be ones I had already seen on YouTube shorts.

I am not sure if the interviewer said that in good faith or if he had another agenda, but it left me with a few questions.

1. How good at coding do I really need to be in order to land a job as an engineer in Electronics and Communication Engineering? What is the baseline?

2. How can I improve at riddles and puzzles apart from simply grinding random ones?

I would appreciate hearing how others in this field have dealt with situations like this.

I'm an incoming computer engineering freshman and seriously thinking of switching to electrical engineering. At my school, the degrees are extremely similar, with only a 3 class difference.

They share the same pool of electives, so that is what makes up most of the difference, but I could just choose all the more computer engineering focused ones.

What i'm most interested in is computer hardware, embedded systems, firmware, microcontrollers, etc.

The reason I'm considering EE is the job market and the flexibility of the degree.

My understanding is that a lot of hardware/computer engineering jobs will accept either an EE or CE degree. However, there are EE jobs in areas like power, electronics, controls, RF, etc. where an employer might only take an EE.

Basically, I'd be trying to use the EE degree as the broader credential while still taking the classes and doing the projects that would make me competitive for computer hardware/embedded jobs.

Do you think this plan could be beneficial to me? Or am I overstating the value of the name on the degree?

I’m an electrical and computer engineering student trying to plan my long-term career (very long-term, like 20+ years). I want to pick one specialization, learn it well, and then completely stop evolving. Ideally, I’d like to keep using the same tools, same workflow, and same opinions for decades while younger coworkers slowly lose their minds trying to get me to update anything.

An ideal specialization would change as slowly as possible (or not at all), reward a 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' mentality, let me say things like 'we've always done it this way', and be hard to replace with AI. Bonus points if I can complain about modern tools and reject new standards on principle.

Right now I’m considering things like power or RF, but I’d love to hear from people in the field.

Thanks in advance.

Hey guys. Senior in highschool going to study ECE at a T10 university in America this fall and I think I want to go into semiconductor field/computer architecture. I’m not sure what part yet as it’s incredibly broad, and there’s design snd VLSI, or the physics side, or manufacturing, or RF.

I see so many posts about people getting one job off of 200 applications, and how the computer engineering field is super cutthroat right now, so I’m wondering if I am making a mistake joining this field right now (I don’t want to have the job market of a CS major).

Chips in America are on the up and up though, so maybe there is hope?

I'm an Electrical Engineering student currently trying to decide which direction to take for my honours thesis and hopefully a PhD afterwards.

Lately I've found myself torn between semiconductor engineering (device physics, fabrication, CMOS, VLSI, etc.) and quantum computing hardware (silicon spin qubits, cryogenic electronics and control hardware).

For those working in either field:

1. What does your day-to-day work actually look like?
   
2. Which field do you think has stronger long-term opportunities in industry and R&D?
   
3. Is quantum hardware mostly an extension of semiconductor engineering, or are they very different career paths?
   
4. If you were starting again today, which would you choose and why?

I'd really appreciate hearing from people with industry or research experience. Thanks

edit: breaking 170, not 200.

Hello,

I would like to know if anyone if willing to talk salary. Where I live, according to Google's AI, is a MCOL area. I think that seems about right. Its definitely not crazy expensive to buy a house like the San Francisco Bay area, but it is not as inexpensive as Kokomo, IN either.

After spending some time with the a CPI calculator and generally looking at how expensive everything has become compared to the start of my career, I have decided that $170k is the new $100k. Meaning I need $170k a year if I want to really 'get ahead' and build generational wealth for my family.

I have a BS in Computer Engineering and I have been out of school, working almost every year, for 20 years now. I do not have any experience managing people as a supervisor. I have been a technical lead on a few teams.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can get to $170k? I am wondering if I can only really do this if I am willing to get a MBA, attempt to go the managerial route, and maybe even move to a different city. Is anyone out there in a MCOL areas making 170k as an individual contributor?

edit: $170k is the new $100k

Apart from the basic breadboard adruino stuff, What made you actually interested into studying all of this complex maths and witchcraft like concepts

​

So nvidia is conducting a hardware role drive in my cllg so I wanted to know the subjects and topics that I must study and also if there would be any programming language questions

Please help me if you can

I (student) recently received an offer from Micron and Marvell, and I'm wondering what to do. I'd like a bit of advice:

• Both are similar roles, so I'm not worried about what work I'd be doing.
• Both of them are also looking to convert to full-time, so my main worry is what the companies themselves can offer me. Which has better culture/pay/upward mobility?
• Is fitting myself into a niche too early a worry? While Marvell does general ASIC work, Micron tends towards memory, so I'm worried I might stunt my career by siloing myself.
• Location doesn't matter.

They are both shooting upwards in terms of market share and hiring rates, but which one would be a better bet? Does one have higher name value over the other for lateral mobility later? Thanks in advance.

Hey everyone,

I’m a 3rd-year Electrical Engineering student applying for co-ops/internships, and I’m dealing with some serious imposter syndrome.

I have a high GPA , but zero personal projects. I’ve had to work heavy part-time hours in precision manufacturing and machining to pay for school, so any time outside lectures went into shop shifts rather than tinkering at home. My resume only has standard lab coursework and years of manufacturing work experience.

Does hands-on machining/manufacturing experience carry weight for EE roles, or is it viewed as completely irrelevant OR Should I scramble to build a quick personal hardware project right now?

Appreciate the honest opinion.

Got an email from ARM for the position listed above and wanted to get some more insight on the hirevue process. I’m in my junior year studying in the US, not sure if the interview process differs between countries. But the expected time says 25 minutes, which seems a little bit on the low end if any technical questions were going to be asked. Has anyone recently completed the hirevue for this position give some tips and what to prepare?

I’m currently pursuing EE but thinking of switching to ECE undergrad in SoCal and wondering what I can realistically expect after graduation. Listing how much you make, YOE, and location would be helpful

As the title suggests. If this kind of post isn't allowed, feel free to delete.

I applied to and was accepted into college as an EE major. Before college, GOING to college was kind of my only goal(tbh I kind of didn't even expect to exist this far), and so now that I was accepted and on campus, I didn't really know what to do after. First and second year of college, I wasn't even really sure if I wanted to stay EE, but I thugged it out. Result: shitty GPA and 0 clubs or extracurriculars, but somehow still on track to graduate. Now, I've actually gotten to take a few classes I liked! Field and waves, and some analog circuit and signal processing stuff, and I really like some of the more theoretical stuff. Problem is... I still have 0 experience and 0 internships, and I'm supposed to graduate next spring. Part of me wants to go to grad school, but unfortunately, my GPA is kind of cooked. Even if I try to get a job after I graduate, I don't think I can(no internship experience). I have a few personal projects I keep procrastinating finishing because I feel like they're not really "impressive" enough to put on a resume. I didn't get an internship for this upcoming summer(I usually take a class or two over the summer, but also lwk js got rejected from all of the ones I did apply to). I just don't know the best way to utilize my senior year. Idek if I'm cut out for the field atp. I'm not looking to make it to some big tech company or anything, I just want to get A JOB in the EE field.

Also, I'm really not trying to larp being ee ok?

At least for now. I'm a junior in Electrical Engineering and for the longest time I've wanted to work in RF but job openings for entry-level positions is seemingly non-existent, which makes sense given how complex it is. I am in my mid-twenties so I kind of need to start working so getting a MS is kind of off the table right now.

My next option was comms, but that is also kind of dead supposedly. What would you recommend as a career that is both in demand and interesting (Please I can't tolerate MEP type work so anything but that).

Hi everyone,

I’m an electrical engineering student who just had an ASIC design internship for the past year. I’m finishing up my internship at the end of August and my manager has mentioned that she’d like me to return after graduation. I need to tell my manager when I’d like to start.

The thing is, l’m gonna be done with courses at the end of August 2027 as opposed to the start of May when most engineers graduate. I’ve been told that in general, new grads most often start in June-July as opposed to September/October/November.

I really want to take at least a month off before starting work to travel/be with family/do degenerate things since it’ll be like the last time I’ll have that much time before I retire. I’m tempted to ask for an October or even November start date so that I can have a month or two off, but then again scared that this is too long, since they’ll be waiting for me for 12-14 months after leaving my internship.

Just asking for advice and personal experience similar to this situation. Thanks!

I unfortunately can't study Communications Engineering at my university, even though it's the field I'm actually interested in. My alternative is Computer Engineering.

If I focused on networks, distributed systems, and neural networks/ML, could I realistically move into wireless communications, cellular networks, or telecommunications later?

I understand that Communications has a different foundation, especially RF, antennas, electromagnetics, signal processing, and communication theory, so I'm not expecting the degrees to be identical.

I just want to know if the gap is realistically bridgeable.

If you could go back to when you were choosing your branch, would you still pick ECE over CSE?

I was considering ECE, but I'm honestly a bit scared of the math. I've heard that it's one of the toughest branches, and I'm not sure if I'm overthinking it or if it would actually turn that difficult on me.

I just graduated and I need some advice. I struggled throughout university due to (medically diagnosed) ADD. I did decent in my RF classes but I ate crap in everything else and ended up with a poor GPA of 2.75. I'm starting a job soon however it's not a role in RF. I'm not sure if I'll be able to compete with others in the RF space who have a masters and/or high GPA. Right now, I've been reading as many RF textbooks as I can and learning how to use HFSS and ADS. However even if I can understand RF well it seems like my poor performance in school will always haunt me.

Anyways let me know if I should continue towards my goal of RF or my efforts are not worth it.

Hi! I was wondering if anyone who’s further along in college or already working in industry could offer some advice.

I’m a senior studying Computer Science, and about halfway through my degree I realized I’m much more interested in the Computer Engineering / EECS side of things, especially hardware, digital systems, and lower-level work. Since then, I’ve tried to shift my coursework in that direction by taking classes like digital design, computer architecture, and chip bring-up.

My main concern is that because I started on the CS side, I feel like I’m missing some of the traditional EE/CE foundation and hands-on experience that someone who has been studying this from the beginning might already have. I don’t have as much background in circuits, electronics, or hardware projects, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to close that gap as I get closer to graduating.

For anyone who has been in a similar position:

• What would you recommend focusing on to become competitive for Computer Engineering / hardware-oriented roles?
• Are there specific EE fundamentals, projects, or skills that are especially worth learning on my own?
• If you started in software or CS and eventually moved toward Computer Engineering, FPGA, ASIC, embedded, or hardware-related work, how did you make that transition?
• Did employers care much about your degree title, or more about your coursework, projects, and experience?

I do have some Computer Engineering experience now, so I’m not starting completely from scratch. I’m mostly trying to figure out how to use my last year of college wisely and build a stronger hardware foundation.

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who made a similar switch!

I have had this major internal conflict in which I was debating continuing my CS major, which will take 2 years or switching to ECE Major, which will take 3 years to complete. The extra year is a big deal as I'm already 26 and don't want to waste any more time than necessary.

The reason why I want to switch is to open the possibility of job opportunities, and so coding isn't my only skillset to have.

I recently talked with someone who works in the ECE field, and he said my degree doesn't really matter since they are so closely related. That I could minor in EE or work on some personal projects and make a portfolio of my experience showing my interest and knowledge of EE/hardware alongside my CS knowledge. Unfortunately, my school does not offer an EE or CE minor. So, my only option is to do some projects related to EE/CE.

I wanted to know if I did invest my time into doing this and that it could realistically help me get into the EE/CE field or if that just won't be enough when I'm competing with those who already have the degree ?

If it is possible, what are some projects that would help me learn while really showing off my skills and knowledge to others ?

I'd appreciate any input regarding this!!

I'm planning to pursue an M.Tech in VLSI/semiconductor engineering and would graduate in 2029. Given the rapid progress of AI, is this still a good career path?

How do you see AI impacting opportunities for future VLSI engineers?

Hey everyone,

I’m currently working at a consulting firm, (just graduated from clg)but my heart isn't in it—I have a genuine love for Electrical and Communication Engineering (ECE). I’m strongly considering leaving my job to pursue a Master’s in ECE so I can build a career doing something I'm actually passionate about.

While consulting provides a reliable paycheck right now, I’m trying to weigh my passion for ECE against the financial risks (tuition costs, paused salary, and the current tech hiring market). Ideally, I want to transition into a field I love without putting myself in a fragile financial position long-term.

For those in ECE or anyone who left a non-tech/consulting job to pursue an engineering MS:

Is the post-graduation ROI strong enough right now to justify leaving a steady consulting salary?

How can I best manage living expenses and tuition during the program (RA/TA positions, part-time work, funded tracks)?

How hard was it to pivot back into technical ECE roles from consulting, and do employers value prior consulting experience alongside an ECE MS?

Would love some honest reality checks and practical advice on balancing this passion move with financial survival. Thanks!

Just had an interview with a manager from the big defense company for a summer internship. The manager went through the role and the company's targets. Then he told me to tell him about my background of mine and my summer internship goals. I told him about the things I learnt during my last summer internship as an EE and the skills I have, and also the target is that I want to dive deeper into the field of power electronics and work on the deeper side of analog design because that's my passion. He then proceeded with the next question about my experience using KiCad, Altium, and Mentor Graphics, and my active clearance (I do have one). After that, we literally went through one or two more questions regarding what happened in the company, how am I gonna be matched for the role, and the expectations of an intern. Lastly is just a couple of questions coming from my side. The interview only lasted 15 minutes, and I kinda feel like he likes me but wasn't really impressed. He just commented, "Good, so you have good experience in circuit design," and sometimes told me about the role of the intern.

It ended so fast that I was surprised too because it was supposed to be a 30-minute session. Am I totally cooked?

I am a senior Computer Engineering student who recently developed an interest in RF/Antenna Engineering. My current skillset makes me good for firmware, embedded, and general Electrical Engineering roles, but not for RF or Antenna Engineering.

While I have used a software-defined radio and have a solid baseline in embedded systems and a few projects that involved PCB layout, I lack the formal academic knowledge and hands-on RF hardware experience to stand out. My school offers an upper-level 'Applied Electromagnetics' course and an 'Intro to RF and Microwave Engineering' course with a lab, but I hadn't taken either.

Because of this, I delayed my graduation—weeks before I was supposed to walk—to stay through the Fall and Winter quarters to take these specific courses. In my mind, I need this coursework to put anything RF-related on my resume, and if I graduate now, my only route to RF coursework is grad school.

However, my EE peers think this was a somewhat foolish move. Their main arguments are:

• "Just get a job as a lab or engineering technician and work your way up to an engineering role."
• "You likely won't get a job as an RF Engineer with just a Bachelor's anyway, so you might become a tech regardless."
• "Recruiters aren't going to ask you what classes you took."

I hear what they’re saying, but I'm skeptical of the "work your way up from a tech" advice, especially since I currently have zero academic or any serious real-world RF/Antenna experience.

Am I overthinking this, or was delaying graduation the right move to break into the RF industry? I’d appreciate any industry perspective on the tech-to-engineer pipeline and how much weight entry-level RF coursework actually carries.