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Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

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Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#1

Post by HLRoku »

I am a recent Electrical Engineering graduate, and graduated in May 2014. I chose Electrical Engineering as my major because I was interested in hardware development, but upon graduating, I personally found hardware development jobs very difficult to come across in America, at least without 5+ years experience, and settled in a related industry.

My current job pays well and isn't too bad, but I find myself lamenting it as I wanted to develop, and the current career path I'm on gets more and more managerial the higher you rise [you don't make parts, you just know where to put them]. This depressed me, and I decided two months ago to advance my programming skills to become a software engineer,as I always was interested just not committed.

I've asked multiple friends at startups what their job entails in detail, as well as what the culture is like, and it sounds like everything I wanted out of a possible hardware development job. As I've begun to study furiously, I also have found an intense passion in programming.

I study 2-3 hours after work every day and roughly 7+ hours weekends to be able to make the switch into a software engineering opportunity, and have networked to find a job in San Francisco. If all goes well with the interview preparation and process, will have an opportunity for a well paying internship this fall.

But honestly, I'm quite scared. While I have done research and don't like my career path, my worries are that if I leave my industry now and end up not liking the software engineering industry [not likely, but I've only done side projects], I feel that I would be "behind" in going back for my EE career path.

I don't have student loans or any other financial obligations. Should I just take the risk without hesitation? I've been advised the best thing for me right now would be to land a software engineering job immediately to learn faster and test the waters. What do you all think?

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#2

Post by calcsam »

Having an outside area of expertise -- in your case, electrical engineering -- is great for your development career.

You can target companies in the overlap & pitch them that your experience makes you a unique candidate.

Examples that come to mind -- Autodesk (builds CAD software), wearables, drones, Internet of Things (eg Nest), sensors....

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#3

Post by HLRoku »

calcsam wrote: post #2

Having an outside area of expertise -- in your case, electrical engineering -- is great for your development career. You can target companies in the overlap & pitch them that your experience makes you a unique candidate. Examples that come to mind -- Autodesk (builds CAD software), wearables, drones, Internet of Things (eg Nest), sensors....

This coincides with what my friend told me as well -- he said most CS graduates don't really get low level hardware processes, and my knowledge in that can be quite desirable, especially since Electrical Engineering is a related field to Software Engineering, but I guess I've been under-rating my qualifications.

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#4

Post by ddv »

I graduated with a traditional engineering degree too and the start of my career sounds similar to yours.

Here's my advice: Pursue what you are interested in. If you don't you will always have a nagging what-if feeling in the back of your mind. Nothing is set in stone and if you decide later that the EE path is more appealing you can get back into it later.

It might be a little harder to switch back but IMO the reward is worth the risk. Since you're a recent graduate, right now is a good time to try stuff out.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#5

Post by papaf »

I actually did this switch 25 years ago for the same reasons. I studied Microelectronics in the UK and I was the first in my graduation year to get a job - 6 months later, by switching to software development (CPU and graphics card benchmarking).

It sort of worked out OK but I have regrets. I grew up wanting to be a hardware engineer but I'm not one.

If you switch to software development, I would recommend that you stay as low level as possible. I recently got back into embedded development and I became a lot happier because of it.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#6

Post by batou »

papaf wrote: post #5

I actually did this switch 25 years ago for the same reasons. I studied Microelectronics in the UK and I was the first in my graduation year to get a job - 6 months later, by switching to software development (CPU and graphics card benchmarking). It sort of worked out OK but I have regrets. I grew up wanting to be a hardware engineer but I'm not one. If you switch to software development, I would recommend that you s…

That's kind of scary as it's exactly what I did. Same course, same country, same time :)

I'd agree with the embedded side though. The business side is a shit sandwich I really wish I hadn't got into.

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#7

Post by calcsam »

HLRoku wrote: post #3
calcsam wrote: post #2

Having an outside area of expertise -- in your case, electrical engineering -- is great for your development career. You can target companies in the overlap & pitch them that your experience makes you a unique candidate. Examples that come to mind -- Autodesk (builds CAD software), wearables, drones, Internet of Things (eg Nest), sensors....

This coincides with what my friend told me as well -- he said most CS graduates don't really get low level hardware processes, and my knowledge in that can be quite desirable, especially since Electrical Engineering is a related field to Software Engineering, but I guess I've been under-rating my qualifications.

Most people do :)

Take a look at Scott Adams' post on dual areas of expertise. It's one of the best primers on how to think about a career:

http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/care...

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#8

Post by davismwfl »

I have a client in Florida looking for a EE that will also develop software to work on the devices they create and have manufactured. Pay is good, and they are willing to have someone that needs to learn some parts, but it is on the opposite side of the country from where you are at. The owners successfully sold two businesses for large sums and have financial resources most of us can only dream of having so they are not afraid to pay for quality. They are struggling because our area has some large employers that keep their EE's with Software experience very close and guarded so it is hard to pull them away.

If there is any interest you can send me an email and I will connect you. I have no decision making authority here nor do I get anything out of it monetarily, but we run their software development right now and have agreed to help them find someone that can bridge the hardware and software side like my team does for them now.

edit: clarity

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#9

Post by HLRoku »

papaf wrote: post #5

I actually did this switch 25 years ago for the same reasons. I studied Microelectronics in the UK and I was the first in my graduation year to get a job - 6 months later, by switching to software development (CPU and graphics card benchmarking). It sort of worked out OK but I have regrets. I grew up wanting to be a hardware engineer but I'm not one. If you switch to software development, I would recommend that you s…

Thank you, I appreciate it. I was thinking that if I stay relatively low level or do arduino and FPGA work on the side, my EE fundamentals can transfer and mix with my software skills at any many jobs, such as embedded engineering or even wireless, as my current focus in EE is RF.

It just kind of sucks that in America it doesn't seem like there are any "true" hardware jobs, and the ones that are around pay extremely little or are VLSI software based. If I knew this in detail when I started EE I'd probably have hesitated upon entry.

Re: Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer?

#10

Post by HLRoku »

batou wrote: post #6
papaf wrote: post #5

I actually did this switch 25 years ago for the same reasons. I studied Microelectronics in the UK and I was the first in my graduation year to get a job - 6 months later, by switching to software development (CPU and graphics card benchmarking). It sort of worked out OK but I have regrets. I grew up wanting to be a hardware engineer but I'm not one. If you switch to software development, I would recommend that you s…

That's kind of scary as it's exactly what I did. Same course, same country, same time :) I'd agree with the embedded side though. The business side is a shit sandwich I really wish I hadn't got into.

I'm honestly comforted to see this being a common thing among posters here. And I agree, as I look into my company's chain it just gets more business focused the higher you go, and that's not what I became an engineer to be.

When I make the switch, I'll be sure to not let my RF/EE background fade to the background, as I believe it can be a strong asset.

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