With the way that computers run our world, many young people wonder if computer engineering is a good choice for a college major and career.
Computer engineering deals with working with the inner components of computers and how they are made.
The industry is continually changing and evolving, and companies are almost always looking to hire computer engineers.
Certain people will benefit from a career in computer engineering and those who should maybe consider another career.
We are going to give you five of the reasons that computer engineering may actually not be worth it.
Of course, this may come as a surprise, but we have a few solid reasons behind this.
Let’s take a look at why computer engineering may not be worth it for you.
Is Computer Engineering Worth It? (5 Reasons It Is Not)
1. More Limited Than Computer Science
As we go through our reasons as to why computer engineering may not be worth it for you as a career choice, you must keep in mind that you will need to consider your own personal preferences.
People have unique skills and weaknesses.
To find the best career choice for you, you must consider what makes you a great employee and then try to capitalize on those things.
It is also important to consider the type of learner that you are.
It has been proven that the more interesting a topic is to you, the easier it is going to be to learn.
Computer engineering may seem very interesting to you, and if that is the case, then you know you are headed down the right path.
Computer engineers are going to do a lot of research and deal with quite a bit of the hardware involved in the computer.
The career of computer engineering is a bit limited by the fact that you can only do with it as much as the hardware specifications will allow.
Computer engineers will design and develop and test different types of computer systems.
Although there will be integration with software, the software programming work will mostly be done by the computer science specialists.
As we have seen through the years, the software in a computer system is really taking the world of computers to another level.
Thins like circuit boards, processors, memory devices, routers, and networks are all going to be the parts of the computer that a computer engineer will work with.
This is an excellent choice for many people, but the opportunities will be a bit more limited than computer science.
Those who understand software and computer science can do a variety of roles within a company.
This has been a real change in the last twenty years as people have moved toward worrying more about software than the hardware on a computer system.
By no means is this saying that computer engineers can’t find a job, but the types of jobs that you can find are going to be a bit more limited than they would be in computer science.
2. Expensive Degree
As with any degree that you are pursuing, the price of the degree is very important to consider.
You must ensure that the degree you are getting is going to lead to a career that you care a great deal about.
Going to college for many years only to find out that you don’t really enjoy your career is a bad situation.
This means that you may have college loan debt, but you still don’t have a degree that can benefit you.
Some college degrees are cheaper than others.
Oftentimes, if you look at the price of a college degree, it will be based a bit on the typical salary of a graduate.
This is why you see a difference in the price of an education degree as compared to a law degree.
Lawyers are going to make quite a bit more money and have an easy time paying off the loans.
Therefore, law school is expensive.
Computer engineers tend to make a really good living because the average salary is typically well into the six figures.
This means that the degree is going to cost quite a bit as well.
Of course, there are scholarships and grants that you can get to help with costs, but these take time and energy as well.
The best thing to do is to choose a major that you are passionate about, land a great job, and then pay down the loans as quickly as possible.
The faster you are at paying down your college loans, the sooner you can start using your full salary to your advantage.
When choosing a college for your computer engineering degree, ensure that you choose something that you believe you will be able to pay off at some point.
3. Rigid And Tangible Work
Working in computer engineering means that you will deal with the physical parts of a computer.
Computer science deals more with abstract concepts like software and systems.
Although some people will find the computer engineering work interesting, others say that, over time, it can get a bit boring.
With computer science, you will feel as though there are no limits and that you can continually create new concepts that will help you see the solution in a variety of ways.
With computer engineering, the work is not going to be as flexible or open, and you will be kind of limited in what you can do.
With the money you can make in computer engineering, maybe your plan is to do this for twenty years or so and then find something different to do.
However, when you decide to choose your career, you must consider the type of work that you would be doing day in and day out.
Ensure that there is enough going on in the course of a day that you will feel engaged and interested the entire time you are working as a computer engineer.
Remember too that the company you work for is going to be part of this equation.
Some companies are a bit more modern and progressive and will allow you to do more on the design side of things.
Other companies are going to require the computer engineer to basically deal with maintenance and repairs of the system.
Look at available jobs on the market and the ones that you would consider to be ideal for your career.
Start your college career by building your resume so that you can one day land this dream job.
With the way that the world of computers is always changing, chances are you may have to be a bit flexible with your college plans, but you should be able to use this as a good guideline.
4. Less Money
Before we get into the money factor, let’s be clear that both computer engineers and computer scientists can make a great living.
However, when you look at both the average and the maximum salary amounts, the computer scientists are going to come out on top.
We think that this trend is going to continue as time moves on.
Companies realize that for them to reach the success they need, they are going to need to have complicated software systems in place.
Most ordinary people would have no idea how to put together software systems for their company’s needs.
Although programs are becoming rather user-friendly, there are still needs for computer scientists, especially those that can be creative and help come up with solutions that we have not seen before in the tech world.
Computer engineers are very valuable employees who will have a steady income, but the opportunity for growth and expansion is not quite the same.
Think about what your career and financial goals are.
The reason you choose a major should not be all about money.
There are lots of ways to make money in this world and lots of ways to learn to survive on different income levels.
Even if you are making a lot of money, if you hate the job, chances are you will want to quit after a short period of time.
The best thing to do is to ensure that you enjoy your career and are still able to support yourself.
Those two goals are the most important for the long term.
People like to say that it is best to choose a career that you love and not worry about money.
However, if you get a degree in computer engineering, you are eventually going to have to pay it off.
This means that finding a career that is lucrative is still important.
5. Career Growth And Future Is Not As Strong As Computer Science
There are all sorts of studies done each year to see what careers are going to last for years and which are going to fall apart over time.
The computer engineering career is growing and expected to grow for quite some time.
The rate of growth is relatively slow, but it is still increasing.
This typically means that there is going to be a strong future in the career, and it is safe for you to go and get your major in this subject.
Although this slow growth rate is good, it is not nearly as good as the growth that is seen in computer science.
Those who are looking at majoring in computer science are seeing almost double the growth that you see in computer engineering.
This difference is considerable and something that you should think about before you decide on which type of career in computers you would like.
Most people who are interested in computers have a general interest in the way that the entire system works.
Although the world will always need computer engineers, there will likely be more computer scientists than anything else at some point.
Again, you can’t let one single negative or positive determine your college and career choice, but these are all important factors to keep in mind.
The better you plan out these decisions, the better chances that you will have of being happy and successful in your work life.
How Much Can New Computer Engineering Graduates Expect To Make?
For those who have just graduated from college, you may imagine the amount of money that you are capable of making is going to be a bit less than a seasoned computer engineer.
Since you have just graduated, you will not have as much hands-on experience, and companies are going to take this into consideration.
If you are great at what you do, it won’t take long to build up your experience and the amount of money that you can make.
One of the great things about most computer engineering careers is that they are also going to include benefits, and that is an important concept to consider.
Many computer engineering jobs are with large corporations or even the government.
These institutions have so many employees that they must have the proper benefits plans in place to take care of the employees.
You can take advantage of these and get yourself set up from the start.
Overall, the computer engineering graduate can expect to make around $65,000 to $85,000 per year.
For a college graduate, this is a good starting point.
Eventually, the salaries will increase, and base salary options will be well over $100,000.
Those who can put a few years in at a great company can expect to see some great growth and room for improvement through the years.
What Skills Do Computer Engineers Need?
Computer engineers need to have specific basic skills in order to succeed in this career.
Before you get too ahead of yourself choosing whether or not this is the best career for you, it makes sense to look at the skills required to be a computer engineer.
If you are not qualified in these skills, you may find better career choices for you out there.
One of the most critical skills of a computer engineer is to be detail-oriented.
The hardware systems of a computer are very detailed, and the computer engineer will need to find particular issues that could be causing problems with the system.
This is not something that is easily discovered for those who struggle with finding a detailed solution.
In addition, computer engineers need to be very analytical.
If you are a person who can understand all steps of a problem and work it backward to a solution, then computer engineering could be an excellent choice for you.
You will have to look at a system and understand the inner workings as opposed to seeing things at a broader top level.
Do you enjoy solving problems?
Those who solve problems will enjoy computer engineering and feel as though the overall career leaves them satisfied.
You can come up with solutions, put together a plan, and end up making a company or an individual quite happy with what you were able to put together.
Overall, there are skills that will help any employee succeed, including critical thinking, communication, and time management.
Whether you wanted a career in computer engineering or you wanted to be a lawyer or doctor, these skills are going to be an essential part of the job.
Chances are you will be working with other computer engineers in your location, and having the ability to get along with them and work together towards solutions is really important.
The technical skills and understanding will be learned as a computer engineering student spends time in college.
These skills will come quite easily to those who are prepared with the overall mindset of someone who enjoys high-level thinking and creating solutions.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you can now make a better decision about whether or not computer engineering is worth considering for your college degree.
Choosing a major is a big decision.
The financial investment that you must make is a large one.
Therefore, it is smart to do some research before you pick the best choice for yourself.
It is better to find out now that computer engineering is not for you than to wait until you have completed an expensive college program.
Even though we have given you five reasons why computer engineering may not be worth it, there are many people who still find this to be the perfect solution for their lives.
The best advice we have is to consider both computer engineering and computer science and see which could be the better fit for you.
NEXT: How Much Meat Does A Cow Yield? (Everything To Know)