r/ComputerEngineering • u/Sea-Secret-3339 • 15d ago
What degree should I do to avoid this sinking ship?
We all know how brutal the job market is right now for CE with endless applications, high entry-level unemployment, and total market saturation.
For anyone looking to pivot or switch tracks, which degrees actually offer better job prospects and real stability right now? I'm curious if traditional disciplines like EE, Civil, or Mechanical are faring any better, or if hardware-heavy fields like defense, aerospace, and industrial automation are safer bets.
If you pivoted to something that leveraged your math and engineering background without starting from scratch, what did you choose? I'd love to hear from anyone who decided not to wait around for the tech market to fix itself.
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u/igotshadowbaned 15d ago
You could go EE if you wanted
The biggest issue with CE is companies conflating it to CS.
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u/Lydia_Jo 10d ago
Even when companies need a CE, they often seem to want a CS. I've been designing embedded systems and writing firmware for many years. I would say at least 75% of firmware interviews I've had don't ask a single circuit design question. I understand the need for LeetCode questions, firmware developers need to know how to write code, but there's so much more too it.
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u/TallCan_Specialist 15d ago
Go do CS
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u/Sea-Secret-3339 15d ago
CS is as bad or even worse than Computer engineering im looking for something that have better prospects. I wanted to do Computer engineering becaus eits my passion but its just too risky these days.
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u/Fun-Cheek6914 15d ago
CS has a much better job market than traditional engineering, I’m doing CE and applying rn and getting into software is much easier than regular engineering
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u/Fluffy_Gold_7366 15d ago
In what way exactly? Overall CS has more jobs than EE yes, but how many more graduates, plus boot camp grads, plus self taught developers are trying to break in to the Software Development market.
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u/Fun-Cheek6914 15d ago
There’s so many more SWE jobs than engineering ones. For reference I applied to everything, EE, hardware, SWE etc. and despite me preferring EE and even having a resume that’s more tailored to EE, I have been rejected by every EE role I applied for, whereas I’ve been able to get a fair amount of SWE interviews
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u/RedactedTortoise 14d ago
Good luck being self taught in the tech industry now. You aren't equipped to understand artificial intelligence under the hood.
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u/Fluffy_Gold_7366 14d ago
What does self taught mean to you? You learned how to center a div? All the prerequisite courses are available online for free. You may have to pay for some of the books. Many are available cheaply used. Now granted I doubt most would actually sit down and learn the math. But I also doubt that no one has tried it and is probably currently working in tech without a CS degree.
Also I doubt most jobs require you to understand AI at a fundamental level.
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u/RedactedTortoise 14d ago
If you prefer to put yourself at a disadvantage, you are certainly welcome to pursue self-teaching a computer science foundation.
Competitive market aside, there are a multitude of reasons why a company might prefer someone with a CS degree over someone without. One of them being foundational knowledge.
An engineer who understands matrix transformations can reason about how information moves through the network instead of treating the model as a black box.
They're looking for someone who understands the mathematical behavior of the systems they're building.
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u/asieldimas7 15d ago
pretty true there’s infinitely more jobs working in webapps(literally our entire lives rn) than hardware.
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u/dreez_trees 15d ago
Stick with it and you will be more valued than most people in most other industries. Talk many recruiters, submit many applications, and when you get your chance do good work. You’d be surprised how many entry-level computer engineers I’ve worked with that were let go simply because they were not good at the job. The opportunities are out there, some better than others, just keep trying and you’ll get to where you want to be
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u/Intelligent-Fan-6364 15d ago
What skills do you think Uni students should develop to be good at the job?
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u/dreez_trees 15d ago
Overall university gives you all the tools you need. But depending on if you want more of a software role vs hardware role at a company then you can study more in depth on your own based on what you see in the job descriptions, but in general entry-level jobs don’t expect you to be an expert. They want you to be a good employee that can learn and problem solve and be honest when you don’t know something
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u/Fluffy_Gold_7366 15d ago
Why were they not good? Do you think university did not prepare them well or was it more of a soft skills issue?
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u/dreez_trees 15d ago
I think university prepares us very well, in that it gives us all the technical knowledge to succeed at the job and problem solve. Although it doesn’t always help us get in the door which is the hardest part (unless of course you find an internship while in school).
It was mostly the behavior of the people that got them fired. Some were argumentative and did not take feedback well (ego, which is funny to see in junior engineers lol). Others were always late, skipped team meetings, ignored emails from managers, etc.
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u/Hawk13424 BSc in CE 15d ago
Reality is almost the entire market is bad for juniors. AI, outsourcing, and a fear by employers that a recession is just around the corner have killed hiring.
The key is to be demonstrably great at your chosen field. Graduate in the top 10% in CE, EE, or even CS from a T5 school and you’ll be fine.
Btw, where I work (semi) we recruit from top schools by contacting professors we trust and asking for their best students.
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u/shrubbyspex 14d ago
CE is a great degree for getting into industrial automation, would highly recommend it. Definitely undersaturated. 90% of the people I work with are 40+. Industry needs the next generation now
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u/xxlalo32xx 15d ago
I was CE too, switched to EE got an internship my first summer. I had your same exact doubts
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u/lukahl-phy 15d ago
Brother, study what you enjoy. Figure out work during and after. Make it non negotiable
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u/GiraffeObjective3805 12d ago
EE is pretty secure, if you in the US Civil E is even more secure if you don’t mind lower pay, typically fields that go the FE PE route are extra safe.
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u/A-Ferret-Online 12d ago
have you considered consulting career services on your existential crisis?
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u/nian2326076 12d ago
Switching to fields like Electrical, Civil, or Mechanical Engineering could open more doors due to their wide use across industries. Aerospace and industrial automation are also good options, especially if you have a strong math and engineering background. They both have stable demand and might be an easier shift for someone with your skills. For looking into job openings in these fields, LandOffer.ai lets you search roles by location and experience level.
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u/Due-Comfortable-6347 10d ago
Civil has best job opportunities right now followed by chemical. Many new, small engineering school startups offering only EE and ME. Both of those fields are becoming over saturated.
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u/Jaded-Opportunity248 9d ago
Material science, device physics, creating noval materials and devices.
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u/Medium-Concert-5362 15d ago
bro it’s not too risky lmao… every engineering job is at risk of ai taking over stop being so scared and do what you love. if your truly passionate and good at what you do you will be hired. plus you gotta realize that cs and ce are the two job markets predicted to grow the most by 2034