

Ask HN: As an EE graduate, should I rush into becoming a Software Engineer? - 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.<p>My current job pays well and isn&#x27;t too bad, but I find myself lamenting it as I wanted to develop, and the current career path I&#x27;m on gets more and more managerial the higher you rise [you don&#x27;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.<p>I&#x27;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&#x27;ve begun to study furiously, I also have found an intense passion in programming.<p>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.<p>But honestly, I&#x27;m quite scared. While I have done research and don&#x27;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&#x27;ve only done side projects], I feel that I would be &quot;behind&quot; in going back for my EE career path.<p>I don&#x27;t have student loans or any other financial obligations. Should I just take the risk without hesitation? I&#x27;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?
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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.

~~~
batou
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.

~~~
HLRoku
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.

~~~
batou
It will be an asset. The most successful team in my company is built out of
mechanical engineers, electrical engineers and mathematicians.

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atroyn
Your story sounds a lot like mine, I'm just a little further down the road.

I graduated with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering (i.e. as a hardware guy)
five years ago.

I spent my very early career trying stuff out. I did an internship as a
software engineer, then I started out as a graduate consultant doing no
engineering at all, then I started my own company where I helped hack together
the prototype, and most recently I've been working as a data engineer and web
developer.

I learned a lot about the industry from many different point of view, but more
importantly I learned a lot about myself. I figured out software in general
and the web in particular isn't for me - I need to get my hands dirty and I
need to build physical products to feel satisfied.

So I'm going back to get my master's from a hardware-focused CS program with a
major research and interdisciplinary component where I can really get back to
my undergrad 'roots' with VHDL, SPICE and soldering iron, as well as learning
a bunch of new stuff about embedded systems, robotics and machine vision. I
haven't been this excited about technology in a long time.

The upshot of all of this is that you don't have to have it all figured out
right now, and taking the time to really learn about something that interests
you is extremely valuable. So is having depth in two very valuable technical
skillsets. Time spent learning is never 'wasted' and if you decide to come
back to EE/ECE or go deep on embedded systems, you totally can - and you'll
probably kick ass at it because you'll have experience and maturity others
might not have.

Finally, from a market point of view, there's a weird convergence going on, of
which the proliferation of embedded systems is just the vanguard. Batteries
are getting cheaper lighter and smaller, SDR is becoming more and more common,
automation is becoming increasingly necessary, and machine-machine
communication is going to need whole new infrastructures. It's a good time to
know what's going on at the low level while knowing what software could/should
do.

------
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

~~~
HLRoku
Thanks, I truly appreciate the offer, however right now I'm more committed to
pursuing more of a pure software position as I feel there's so much to learn
in that field. Had I known about embedded engineering in detail I'd probably
have tried to get those jobs first immediately upon graduating.

I know I couldn't clarify because of HN's text limit, but I'm actually in the
NYC tristate area, and the position in SF is for an internship at a very
promising startup. I'd like to stay in NYC if possible because of family and
friends, but I'll see how it goes.

Thanks again, and maybe sometime in the future after I've dabbled in the
software industry I might consider embedded systems engineering and the like
-- these posts have helped me realize that my EE background does not have to
fade into the background at all.

------
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.

~~~
HLRoku
Yeah, it's what's been keeping me up at night. I'm a fairly safe person, so I
don't like risks, but one day I had a realization: "What am I doing with my
life? Is this /really/ what I want to do with it? Aren't I regretting this
right now? How much will I regret this later?"

I've come to the decision that making the switch and then coming back with
maybe 2 years "wasted" is far better than sitting in my industry wondering
what could have been. Not having student loans is something I'm extremely
grateful to my parents for, because with loans this sort of thing would be
impossible.

Thanks for your advice, I'll try it and see what happens!

------
HLRoku
My process to learning programming and the people I've talked to, as well as
the experience in my current industry all might be intersting reads -- just
wondering, but is there any interest in a blog? I was afraid my employer might
find it, thus my new alias, but honestly I think I'll be happy documenting
something like that for future records both for myself and other engineers in
my position.

------
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....

~~~
HLRoku
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.

~~~
calcsam
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...](http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2007/07/career-
advice.html)

~~~
HLRoku
Thanks for the read, just finished. The most interesting thing about this post
for me is that what he's saying seems like it should just be common sense --
of course that's the way things are, it makes a lot of sense and is a very
logical way of thinking about it.

That's kind of what bothers me about it. It IS obvious and logical... so why
hadn't I considered it as clearly before? Why is everyone so narrow in our
focuses after graduating college? I don't know, and quite honestly it bothers
me. It's a good read, but I can't shake this slight feeling of anger and
frustration; I almost want to blame the school environment and society, but I
feel that's naive` and not where to place the blame?

Feeling pretty mixed right now, haha.

