It very much depends on where you plan to live and work. Work opportunities are not evenly distributed.

Computer engineering has become a niche and there are few potential employers. Most computer manufacturers assemble computers from components and subsystems from Intel, AMD, TMSC, Nvidia, etc. Although it does require a great deal of expertise, it is not typical of what is taught as CE.

Consider what the proposed CE curriculum covers. In many cases university courses fail to keep up with the pace of technology. Industry experience is far more valuable than theory. There just isn't enough time during a semester to develop in-depth practical experience in any given area.

Electronic / embedded systems engineering have broader potential areas of application. FPGAs are potentially a very good skill to have. But, as above, consider in light of employment opportunities.

At the lowest design levels EEs obsess over transmission line effects and EMF radiation from PCB traces. These days advanced electronic circuits are microwave transmitters.

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oumua_don17 7 months ago | parent | next [-]

>> It very much depends on where you plan to live and work. Work opportunities are not evenly distributed.

This, a million times, and is often overlooked.

In fact, I would say that you should try working it out backwards. Find the place where you will really enjoy to live and find the best possible work you can do aligned with or leveraging your current skills with decent prospects for future growth.

Twice in my career, I found work that was interesting but in places where I didn't like to live. And living well is way more important than working!!!

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jwindle47 7 months ago | parent | prev [-]

Super valuable advice. The program I’m considering has VLSI design, chip architecture, and FPGA work all at the graduate level. I don’t know if the school has fabs but it’s seemingly well known and well funded so maybe?

As a part of this degree I’ve also selected coursework that is more related to CS. I’m looking at a compilers class, OS class, and neural networks as well.

With a focus on FPGA do you think that’s broadly applicable and evenly distributed geographically? I am prepared to move for certain industries, like working in space technology

	▲	GianFabien 7 months ago \| parent [-]
		Space tech is yet another cool industry. It is most certainly localized in a small number of locales and competition for jobs is fierce. As for FPGAs, the skills in that area are most in demand by companies producing advanced electronics, e.g. video, networking, some industrial and scientific processes. I see BioTech / MedTech as being two very high potential areas. Of course, the manufacturers of such equipment are generally located in already highly industrialized areas.