Computer Science and Engineering

Career in CSE

Since the development of the first transistor in 1947 by William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter H. Brattain, electronics have exploded. Within a decade after its introduction, the transistor had outpaced existing electronic tubes with higher switching speeds, lower power consumption, and smaller weights and sizes.

Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce turned up the volume in the 1960s when they used a transistor as an electronic switching device in the development of integrated circuits. These circuits, when arrayed, became the mainframes for computers. For the past three decades, as electronics have become more powerful, computers and transistors have been shrinking in size as have the devices themselves. Memory requirements have skyrocketed, and the impact of the information revolution on society has changed the way people use computers and the way they think about them.

Computers are used in almost every aspect of life: automobile engines, microwave ovens, video games, watches, telephones, laptop computers, medical diagnostic equipment, commercial aircraft, and orbital satellites that deliver cable signals around the world. Computers have become tools that perform the immediate, but that's not even quick enough. So, while the computer field is one of the fastest-growing segments of the industry today, it is also one of the fastest-changing areas technologically.

Graduates with degrees in computer science or computer engineering might find themselves in a variety of environments - academia, research, industry, government, and private or not-for-profit organizations. On a daily basis, computer professionals are called on to analyze challenges, formulate and test solutions, use advanced communications or multimedia equipment, or work in teams for product development. The opportunities are enormous. However, an education in computer science and engineering does not stop with a college degree. It continues on the job or in the graduate school environment through seminars, conferences, advanced courses, and training.

New ideas are developed every day. Success will require an ongoing commitment to maintaining up-to-date knowledge as well as a dedication to push beyond the comfortable, to explore, innovate, and create. Here's a partial list of career opportunities for computer science and engineering graduates:

Artificial Intelligence

The development of computer that simulate human learning and reasoning ability.

Computer Design and Engineering

The design and manufacture of new computer circuits, microchips, and other key electronic components

Computer Architecture

The design of new computer instruction sets, working to combine optical or electronic components to create faster, more cost-effective computing environments.

Information Technology

The development and/or management of information systems that support industry, which can involve hardware, software, algorithms, databases, and man-machine interfaces.

Software Engineering

The creation of methods for the production of software systems quicker and more efficiently.

Computer Theory

The study of fundamental theories of how computers solve problems and the eventual application of those findings to other areas of computer science and engineering.

Operating Systems and Networks

The development and implementation of the basic software computers use to supervise themselves or communicate with other computers in a network.

Software Applications

The application of computer science and engineering technology to solve problems outside the field of computer science - for example, medical or educational applications.