For the past six years, I have been doing a lot of soul searching about what I am going to do with my life. I have gone from being a pharmacy technician, a detailer for a car dealership, and a military policeman in the United States Air-Force (USAF). I was jumping from one field to another, and I did not have a sense of direction on what I was going to be in life. Then one night, while I was surfing the web with my MacBook Pro, I clicked the track-pad to search for “bum fights” on YouTube, and a switch clicked in my head.
I had an epiphany. I was meant to be a computer engineer, and I envisioned myself in an IBM commercial wearing a lab coat over a nice Italian suit babbling about a certain type of innovation I am working on for computers, and how I am “building a smarter planet”. This prompted me to research the path to acquiring a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, general description and job outlook of the occupation, and a practical skill I need to learn in case of an apocalyptic event.
I found out that it would be a long and grueling path to attain a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. In order to start my career as a computer hardware engineer, I would need to obtain a bachelor’s degree in a computer engineering program recognized by the ABET (formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) (United States). To acquire my bachelor’s degree, I am currently attending Southwestern College (SWC), and I am planning to transfer to SDSU or UCSD because both universities offer engineering programs accredited by the ABET.
To prepare for my major, SWC requires me to finish all of my general education requirements. This consists of an extensive list of math, physics, and a couple of engineering courses which may take me two to three years to accomplish in order to transfer to one of my preferred universities. Then after transferring, it may take me another two to three years to acquire all the credits I need in order to graduate. It will be a lengthy and arduous journey to accomplish my goal, but I am motivated by my family’s assistance and encouragement.
Also, I feel blessed and privileged that I will not be among the percentage of college students graduating in debt from student loans; my GI bill will cover a portion of my tuition, and my mother has volunteered to cover the rest. A typical day-in-the-life of a computer hardware engineer would consist of the gathering of computer chip and hardware requirements, and also the programming of user interfaces for the built hardware (Dela Cruz). In addition, the construction of the hardware requires quality assurance testing to satisfy the needs of the client’s request (Dela Cruz).
The work environment of a computer hardware engineer may include a lot of technical and high-tech equipment, including machines that can fabricate computer chips and hardware (Dela Cruz). Meetings are commonplace and beneficial, especially for discussions about your team’s current task (Dela Cruz). With all of the technical and high-tech equipment at the work site, one would think it would be a very stressful environment. Instead Ryan Dela Cruz states, “It has a low-stress environment, but stresses at the work site can vary.
One of the primary stresses is the completion of a project that’s close to a deadline especially if there are unexpected errors during the final phase of a project. ” Dela Cruz also added that the camaraderie and the cohesive teamwork between engineers keeps the stress levels low in the work environment. According to my friend, Ryan Dela Cruz, a computer hardware engineer for IBM, work hours can vary from forty to sixty hours per week depending on the project at hand. Commonly, computer hardware engineers are full-time workers that can earn an average salary of one hundred thousand dollars a year (United States).
Along with the salary, computer hardware engineers are usually given stellar job benefits that cover their health and life insurance, vacation, sick leave, and a retirement plan (California). In terms of advancement in the computer-engineering field, one starts as a developer, and rises to team manager and then to a supervisor position, respectively (Dela Cruz). Throughout my career as a computer hardware engineer there will be necessary supplemental training. Ryan Dela Cruz confirmed, “Supplemental training is based on the technologies that are in production, or for future projects that will be developed.
Technology associated to computers are rapidly changing and constantly creating new innovations. I assume supplemental training will be necessary in order to progress in the computer-engineering field. Even though computer-engineering is a great field to pursue because of its high average annual salary, the overall national job outlook of the computer-engineering field is bleak.
The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an independent statistical agency that provides information about occupations in the U. S. stated that the computer-engineering field is expected to have a slower than average job growth within the computer industry with only a nine percent increase in employment within the next decade (United States). Conforming to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only a small amount of computer hardware engineers would actually get employed due to the increased advancement in technology with software rather than hardware (United States). On a positive note, in California more than eight hundred new, entry-level positions are offered for computer hardware engineers annually (California).
The computer hardware-engineering field is growing with more than three thousand new job openings within the next decade in California (California). However, in reality, in the state of California, the numbers of computer hardware engineer graduates are rising, but the employment expectancy does not coincide (California). After finding out about the computer hardware-engineering field’s job outlook, it made me realize that I need a back-up plan. Luckily, lateral job changes in the computer-engineering field are very common, and one might land an actual dream job as a practical fallback.
The perfect example would be my friend, Melvin Auza, who earned a bachelor’s degree in computer-engineering. He spent almost a year looking for job as a computer hardware engineer, and ended up getting hired as a project engineer (government position) for interior communications group by Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (Auza). In addition, Ryan Dela Cruz pointed out that lateral job changes in the computer-engineering field could include shifting into the Information Technology Field or Computer Science field.
As I interviewed both of my computer hardware engineer associates about lateral job changes and practical fallbacks, both of them told me that I would be able to get any computer engineering job I prefer because of my military background, and prior approval for a security clearance in the USAF. As my English Professor, Cody Dolnick, always instills in his students’: “be a “Swiss Army knife”! He told us not to just depend on a bachelor’s degree; strive to be versatile and learn certain set of skills that would help you survive a zombie apocalypse.
I have found out about a particular skill that will help me live a sustainable life in such events. I have planned that I will practice and learn about “Urban Homesteading” for my “last resort”, or Professor Dolnick would call your “emergency chute. ” Urban Homesteading is basically urban farming, and living a lifestyle that doesn’t rely on any electrical or gas powered appliances (Wikipedia). According to UC-Davis, “An urban homestead is a household that produces a significant part of the food, including produce and livestock, consumed by its residents.
This is typically associated with residents’ desire to live in a more environmentally conscious manner. ” (qtd. in Urban Homesteading). I believe urban homesteading is the best practical skill to obtain in case of a catastrophic event because it promotes an independent and sustainable type of living. Currently, the more tricks of the trade that one possesses in this uncertain and unbalanced sphere of obstacles, the better off that individual will be. Phrases such as “only the strong will survive” or the “survival of the fittest,” are realities and not assumptions.
If one has doubts about these phrases, all one has to do is read or watch numbers of unemployment, homelessness, increasing credit card debt, and our downward fall of humanity that is sinking as decades creep up on each and every one of us. As I conducted my research I found out that it might take me five to six years of college to attain a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering. I am also enthused to become a computer engineer because of the high-tech and facile work environment.
Even though the employment rate for the computer-engineering field is torpid, it will be a cinch to snag an entry-level position because of the security clearance I acquired from the USAF. Also, I found out about a practical skill or my “emergency chute” such as urban homesteading that practice sustainable living skills. To have a back up plan and not need it is better than needing a back-up plan and not having it. Hopefully, with faith, fortitude, determination, and God’s will, my plan will take full flight to unlimited potential in professional, as well as personal growth and an abundance of wisdom, clarity, and focus.
Bibliography:
Auza, Melvin. Personal interview. 21 Nov. 2012.
California. Employment Development Department. Computer Hardware Engineers
in California. N.p., 2010. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.
Dela Cruz, Ryan. Personal interview. 28 Nov. 2012.
United States. Department of Labor. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Computer Hardware
Engineers. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 29 Mar. 2012. Web. 20 Nov.
2012.
“Urban Homesteading.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 26
Nov. 2012.
