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Electrical and Computer Engineering @lemmy.world Andreas @feddit.dk

What are the job prospects like for an EE graduate in a country that doesn't have a strong semiconductor and IC design/manufacturing industry?

EE major here, expecting to graduate in 2024. I'll have to admit that I'm only here because I wasn't admitted to the CS program and I've mostly been paying attention to trends in the software development industry, so please pardon my ignorance. My country (Sweden) has a great software industry but the hardware design and manufacturing industry isn't nearly as strong. The advice I get is that EE has great career prospects in semiconductors, IC design, microelectronics and defense, but most of these positions will require relocation which I'm not interested in. I'm clueless about RF and power systems, and besides, the compensation tends to be worse than the previously mentioned industries.

Currently, I'm grinding the "self-taught programmer" stuff, taking CS classes and doing IT jobs to get the experience for a full-time dev role. The CS bubble burst didn't affect my country that much because we didn't have overinflated salaries and excessive expansion during the pandemic. Would there still be good prospects in EE if I choose to focus on it (assume passion for CS is negligible), or would it be a better idea to keep going with CS?

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  • I'm unfamiliar with career prospects for electrical engineers in Sweden, so I'll defer to that advice you have gotten, and hope someone who is familiar can add some helpful information. Perusing through LinkedIn and Indeed could be helpful in seeing what the job offerings are like in your local area. I'll try to add something useful to the discussion though. From what you've said, you seem very passionate about computer science -- self-learning and working in a related field while pursuing a degree in EE is no joke. It would be a shame to abandon that pursuit if it truly is a passion of yours.

    Some questions I have that might be helpful to think over:

    1. What is the process to change your major now? I recognize you're only a year away from graduating with an EE degree, but it could be useful to know what the application process would be like, what barriers you would face with regard to admittance into the CS program now, etc.
    2. What is your plan after undergrad? Have you thought about pursuing a master's degree in CS? There are options for fully remote classes (for instance, my alma mater has an online MS in CS program called "OMSCS").
    3. In terms of careers as an EE that could provide more job opportunities and straddle the line between EE and CS, have you looked into roles related to firmware engineering / embedded software engineering?

    • Great response, thank you! I have spoken to university career counseling about it before, but they want to avoid discouraging students and the answers I get are along the lines of "there are opportunities everywhere". However, LinkedIn and Indeed offers for EE are quite miserable compared to the offers for CS jobs, and to be honest I don't even know if I'll do well in the industry because I struggle a lot more with circuit design concepts than programming ones.

      For the questions:

      1. Changing major is out of the question for me, because I would need to redo the CS program, which would delay my graduation by many years and I can't afford to do that.
      2. My plan is to get a junior developer or IT infrastructure job and just carry on from there. I'm counting on my CS-related internships and personal projects to make up for the lack of a degree. I also have around a year left to graduation, so I'm hoping I can get a return offer from an internship by then. My grades aren't great so I'm not optimistic on the possibility of getting a MS :(
      3. I didn't really consider those as I had the impression that they heavily favor computer engineers, but I'll look at them now!
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