To Be Or Not To Be A CET? 86
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?"
Hard question (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Do what you really want to do (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
No degree dooms you to a life waiting tables... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Hrm... (Score:5, Insightful)
More food for thought (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re:I have an EET and CNS degree (Score:1, Insightful)
4H Recruitment drive. (Score:2, Insightful)
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.
Re:The "T" stands for technology (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:I have an EET and CNS degree (Score:1, Insightful)
Oh please.... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:CS/EE does NOT equal CET (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:Do what you really want to do (Score:5, Insightful)
Reasons range from over-hiring during the boom and cuts during the recession to the boost in the unemployed pool caused by scandals like Enron. There were a few firms who even revoked the offers they made to graduating lawyers - dropping them on their butts late enough in the game to almost ensure they remained unemployed for a while. That's a rather unheard-of event in the legal profession, as reputations are everything - it'll kill those firms' chances of hiring the top lawyers out of law school for years to come. Not pleasant. I know people that graduated high up in their classes from top law schools last year that are shoveling snow and mowing lawns for a living right now. Jobs are starting to come through, but typically they aren't anywhere near what one would have expected three years ago.
Accounting hasn't seemed much better - the major scandals dumped a lot of experienced accountants on the streets, and some of the biggest firms collapsed hard [cnn.com]. There's also a smaller number of startups to pick up individual accountants. And business? You talked to any VC recently?
It's rough out there right now. But I agree with your primary recommendation - do what you think you'll love doing. Hell, it probably isn't a bad idea to extend the college-time a bit trying out different fields to find that love until the economy picks up - if one is optimistic that it will. I think it's starting to, if we can try to avoid starting any more long quagmire-style wars and get our government spending in check before things really go south we might have a chance.
Re:4H Recruitment drive. (Score:2, Insightful)
The trouble with doing this is that the profit margins are fucking small, really really small. If you don't already own the land, don't bother. If a disaster happens, you'll have a net loss for the year. If you're interested in making profit in cattle farming, then you'll need that million bucks. You'll be feeding your cattle moldy rotten feed and sheep hay to cut costs, and they'll live a miserable life. Cows will die because it's cheaper to let them die than to do something about it. A small operation is the _only_ way to do it right, but it's mutally exclusive with making enough money to live on.
4H Recruitment drive.-diversify. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:4H Recruitment drive. (Score:2, Insightful)
Profitability is highly variable and it takes a keen business mind to stay in business.
The best be to make the money is to get paid by agracultural researchers to use you land for researching the viability of new strains of crop as that's gaurenteed to produce a profit.
In short farming is very hard work that you typically get underpaid for.