The life of a Computer Engineering student is full of assumptions, many of which are not your own. A typical conversation that I’ll have with anyone who doesn’t know me generally ends up with me dispelling some of these thoughts that they have. The number of times I’ve had to say no to people who ask “Oh, so you’re going to work for IBM when you graduate?” is bordering unbearable.
Here are some myths that I’ve found people assume about all CoE majors, no matter who they are.
1. You are a Computer Science major.
There is a huge difference between Computer ENGINEERING and Computer SCIENCE. A Computer Science major will probably never work with circuits and electronics, or do any programming that isn’t related to software development. A Computer Engineering major is more likely to design a robot or a circuit board than to design a video game. There you go, myth dispelled.
2. You are a computer genius.
Sure, we study how the computer works in theory, but in reality, we only really learn how to make things that use computers to run. An ironic existence indeed.
3. You are a math deity.
Sure, I can calculate derivatives in my head and use the integration by parts technique, but I am not on the level of being impeccable at math. In fact, my writing skills probably far surpass my knowledge of mathematics. At least I have the comfort of knowing that there are pre-made formulas for everything that you need to know about the harder math classes, which means I can continue my fraudulent existence in peace.
4. You are a hacker.
Compared to people who actually know a little bit about Computer Science, we feel like absolute scrubs. At least we can boast proudly about how little we know about circuitry and programming hardware. Take that CS majors.
5. You do not sleep, just blink periodically.
This may or may not be true, but you don’t have to assume that it’s all bad. I have gotten to a point of time management where I can complete multiple assignments for multiple classes while studying for multiple insanely difficult exams and still get six hours of sleep. I amaze myself.
6. You build killer robots.
Not true, our robots are the only killer if we make a mistake and burn a motor. Aside from that, we could build deadly robots if we wanted to, that’s just not what humanity needs right now.
7. You want to work for Google.
This is only a myth because everyone wants to work for Google. I can’t think of a reason not to want to work for a company like that. Literally a student of any major could find an excuse to work with Google performing some sort of task. I wouldn’t even be surprised if pre-med students applied for a position as a personal health and wellness consultant.
8. You know all engineers.
I’ve never had a conversation where I mentioned my major and the other person didn’t say, “Hey, do you know this obscure individual who graduated three years ago who went to Cornell and happened to be a Mechanical Engineer?” No, I do not know this obscure individual, and I probably never would have, had you not mentioned them.
9. You like to torture yourself.
While this may be true in some cases, a major is not indicative of your desire to experience pain. In fact, most people choose this major because they hear you get to build cool things and make a lot of money.
10. You will one day be rich.
In my recent experience, I have determined that if you do not have extensive knowledge about your subject matter, or some other impressive quality as a computer engineer, you may end up being unemployable in your field of interest. But don’t worry; you’ll be hired by someone, eventually. Here’s hoping.
11. You have a five-year plan.
I barely know what I’m going to be doing tomorrow. I can’t even imagine what will happen after graduation, and neither can most of the people I know. An unfortunate fact of life is not everything can be perfectly planned and executed, and Computer Engineering beyond college is one of those things.
12. You torture others with your intellect.
People tend to assume that I am going to explain to them the process that a computer goes through from startup to shutdown, and if I knew that I would, but I do not. The closest I have ever come to making this true about me and computer engineering is my view on Android versus iPhone.
13. You torture others with your writing.
Writing is probably my second favorite activity aside from hip-hop, which is also writing. Also, as I mentioned before, I probably know more about writing a research paper than I know about Linear Algebra. Then again, that might not say much.
14. All of your classes are impossible.
I have had more trouble in general education courses than courses for my major. The only problems that we generally complain about are that there is way too much to do in a short amount of time and there are way too many hours spent in class.
15. Only the elite can survive your major.
If I can survive then anyone can. This is not an easy journey, but it definitely isn’t impossible with enough self-application and dedication.
So to sum it all up, nothing is completely true and nothing is completely false. Everything explanation on this list may also not be true for all people in my major, but hopefully this article will stop you from upsetting some innocent Computer Engineers in the future.
