r/ComputerEngineering

finishing up my junior year CE. love the program overall but something's been bothering me more and more

we spend a huge chunk of time on x86 architecture. like a serious portion of the curriculum is built around it. meanwhile the actual industry in 2026 is ARM everywhere phones, laptops, servers, apple silicon, and now apparently 90% of AI server custom chips by 2029. RISC-V is picking up serious momentum in embedded and academic research. and we're spending weeks on x86 because that's what the textbooks were written around

same thing with embedded systems. we're doing projects on hardware that nobody ships anymore. not for depth or fundamentals, just because the labs haven't been updated

i get that fundamentals matter. i'm not saying skip theory. but there's a difference between teaching you how to think about architecture and just teaching you the specific architecture that happened to dominate in 2005

talked to a professor about it and got the "fundamentals transfer" answer which is true but also feels like a way of not updating the curriculum

curious if other CE students are seeing the same thing at their schools or if this is just my program. and for people further along did the x86 heavy curriculum actually matter once you were working or did you relearn everything on the job anyway

Hey everyone.

I’m from Turkey and I graduated in 2025 in computer engineering.

I also worked part-time at a game company for around three years while studying so I thought finding a junior job after graduated would be manageable. But honestly, I’ve been struggling a lot.

Right now, I am temporarily working as an accounting assistant because I couldn’t find a software job yet.

I wanted to ask: is the market this difficult everywhere right now or is it especially bad in my country?

Are there other new graduates are going through something similar?

Sometimes social media makes it look like everyone as it getting internships, remote jobs or FAANG offers, so I’m curious about real situation.

Hello! I am an incoming Computer Engineering (CpE) student and I am looking for some advice. I want to prepare ahead of time before classes start this August.

I would like to ask current CpE students and graduates:

• What topics should I advance study before my first year?

• Which programming languages or math concepts should I focus on?

• What projects should I build early on?

• Are there any required apps or software I should download? (Especially for coding, since I don't know where to write code yet.)

• Is a powerful laptop or PC required for this course?

• Do you have any general advice for navigating the entire 4-year program?

To give a bit of background:

- I am not very confident in math yet (especially calculus and algebra), and I have zero to little coding experience.

Any advice outside of my questions is highly appreciated!

Thank you!

Which role will lead to becoming an IP/unit level architect? I understand that perf modeling works closely with architects but wouldn't perf verification lead to better low level understanding of the IP/sub-system? Does it even make a difference?

hey guys i’m currently a senior in high school who is committed to cal poly slo for computer engineering which is a top program for the major and want to go to specially asic design. However, I have been hearing just recently that computer engineering is not a major i should i go into as it has high unemployment rates and rise of ai. I’ve always been interested in computers ever since I was young and thought it was a good major for me. Now I’m starting to question if it’s still a good long-term path, especially for ASIC design.

https://preview.redd.it/jk14pke36b1h1.png?width=1684&format=png&auto=webp&s=08a92e3d8cd4e2ae57df5876532464dcf15cb1eb

We'll be here next Thursday 21st May, 3–5pm BST to answer your questions, with a focus on industrial and embedded use of Raspberry Pi.

Between the three of us we cover the full stack, so bring whatever you've got; board-level hardware questions, software and OS questions, the Compute Modules, RP2040/RP2350, real-time performance, interfacing with industrial protocols, or broader questions.

Post your questions now and we'll work through as many as we can on the day.

See you on the 21st.

— Eben, James & Gordon

I am a computer engineering major at ut arlington my gpa is 2.5. It was because of math classes i did good in the cse classes(i got b in discrete and a in 1106 and c in cse 1320) I used ap credit for 1310. should i transfer to utd, but will i get in utd for computer engineering? i want to go for gpa reset

Hi, so I am going to apply for college soon and I'm really debating between CS, computer engineering and electrical engineering. I do enjoy coding and making stuff but I don't really know if I like where the CS field is heading. Just to be clear, if there was no AI, job market or oversaturation issues, I would choose CS in a heartbeat. I love tech, and it's my main/only passion, but to me CS is starting to lose its light. It feels like the field is just Claude, prompting and trying to conserve tokens. Like I don't mind using AI but at this point it doesn't really feel like I'm "coding" or doing any of the CS stuff I enjoyed or was passion about. Like I'd love to actually make and design things and work with and develop tech and code while doing so. But at the same time I'm only really considering CE or EE because CS isn't looking too good. So considering this, would it be better for me to go with CE or EE instead or am I overthinking it or something.

It kind of feels like I'm considering engineering just out of fear of CS not working out, but at the same time I'm trying to be realistic. It's not like I hate software now but I don't want to devote myself into something that might just become AI babysitting in the future.

Also, does the CE and CS job markets compare, and if I do go against CS how should I choose between EE and CE.

Hello, I have taken coding classes and engineering classes in highschool… but have not owned a computer 😅 my mom said she’d finally buy me one but id have to find out which computer is best
I dont want to do research cause im lazy so I came here and thought it’d be smart to ask random people.
🙏🥹 please help a random kid out
Gonna be a freshman in college and im actually cooked

Hey everyone,

I am a computer engineering undergraduate trying to decide if buying a tablet is a smart move or just an unnecessary expense.

To be clear, I already have a proper, high-performing laptop that handles all my coding, IDEs, and heavy software engineering labs perfectly. My question is strictly about my note-taking and studying workflow.

Money is quite tight for me. I don’t have much to spend, but I can manage to squeeze my budget for a tablet if it genuinely improves my productivity. However, I don't want to waste money if it is just a luxury.

I am trying to choose between two workflows:

Workflow A: Laptop + Paper-based notebooks

Workflow B: Laptop + Tablet + Minimal Paper

For CE students or grads:

Is adding a tablet a game-changer, or is it an unnecessary expense when you already have a proper laptop?

How do you manage heavy math, physics, and complex circuit diagrams? Is it actually better on a digital screen, or do you still prefer spreading out real paper on a desk?

Thanks for the honest feedback!

I'm about to enter my first year of Computer Engineering and I'm very nervous about the amount of coursework.

These are the courses we are having for first year and the workload seems massive:

1. Digial systems design and computer architecture
2. General physics 1
3. Information technology and law
4. Introduction to Computer Science and Programming
5. Introduction to Digital Engineering
6. Linear algebra and geometry
7. Mathematical analysis 1
8. Mathematical analysis 2

I wanna do well in these courses and get an internship / summer fellowships too so I'm going to prepare for these materials beforehand. What resources would you reccomend for these classes. So far I've only been learning Python and solving Competitive Programming algorithms. I'm planning to revise for Algebra 1, Precalculus and Calculus too and learn C++, would that be enough or should I be engaging more with Physics and Computing theories?

Also I'm a bit confused about which path I should go for in my internship. So far based on my research, computer engineering is quite vast, I can do Analog Design, Software Engineering, Robotics, Logic design, VLSI, Circuit design, Firmware, Controls Engineering, Electronics, Embedded engineering, AI, Robotics, Processors design, System on chip design, FPGA, Cybersecurity. Which one would you recommend on starting with for my first internship or fellowship? Also is there any programs that is friendly for freshman in Europe and Asia?

After my computer engineering degree I plan to do another engineering degree for my masters too, either Nuclear Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or Materials Engineering. Is this a good plan?

Hello everyone! I'm currently a second year compE student and I'm thinking of taking IT as my minor, is it worth trying or is it just a waste of time and money? Will it help me to have a better chance of having a job since the job market in my country is quite terrible. Can you enlighten me to decide.

Not just coding, debugging, or surviving deadlines.

It also taught me:

• how to travel 40 km for a task that could have been an email,
• how to wait hours for a viva scheduled at a fixed time,
• how to submit the same documents multiple times because systems weren’t actually systems,
• how “100% placement support” and “100% placement reality” can be very different things,
• and how IT students sometimes need permission to charge the laptops required for IT education.

One thing I learned very clearly:

A campus can teach modern technologies like AI/ML, software engineering, and digital systems — while still operating on outdated processes and poor student experience.

Students are expected to behave professionally from day one.
Educational institutions should hold themselves to the same standard.

Because professionalism is not just a subject in the syllabus.
It is respecting people’s time, communication, infrastructure, and trust.

To future students:
Before choosing a college, don’t only look at advertisements and placement banners.
Talk to actual students.
Ask how the system works in reality.

That tells you more than any brochure ever will.

There are many Fields for CE like - Data analysis, Software developing etc all. But which sector can't be replaced by AI?