Employment Analysis of Computer-related Majors: What are the Differences between Software and Hardware Majors?

Date：2022-01-26   Author：admin

Computer-related majors are very popular in applications for science and engineering studies abroad. They have a high demand for talents and a high employment rate. Moreover, computer-related majors usually fall under STEM programs, and graduates can obtain OPT visas for up to 36 months, meaning they have the opportunity to work in the United States for up to three years. Therefore, it is highly favored by international students and is the first choice for science and engineering students going to study in the United States.

Computer-related majors can basically be divided into two major categories: Computer Science (CS) and Electrical Engineering (EE).

What are the differences between CS and EE?

In China, under the CS department, the following majors may be set up: Computer Science and Technology, Information Security, and Software Engineering (which may also be offered in the Software College). These three majors are centered around computers, and the courses are largely similar. In the lower grades, they all focus on the study of basic mathematics, basic numerical logic, and some programming. In the senior grades, the focus of specialized courses will vary. The specialized courses of the Computer Science and Technology major cover a relatively comprehensive range, while the Information Security major and the Software Engineering major each focus on related cryptography or software.

Question

Student: Majoring in Computer Science and Technology, a freshman, I want to do an internship as a back-end developer in an enterprise. Is it possible?

Explore Planning Mentor: It's possible. However, since the courses offered in the first year of college are mostly basic ones, it is very difficult to achieve technical proficiency by getting an internship in a relatively good Internet company as a developer or in a more technical position during the first year. It is of course possible if students have conducted some more in-depth studies related to algorithms on their own in addition to the courses they are taking at school.

EE is basically the same department as CS (EECS) abroad, but in China, it is more scattered. Among them, Electronic Information Engineering (Information Engineering, Communication Engineering), Electronic Science and Technology, Microelectronics, Automation (Control), Measurement and Control Technology and instruments, etc. all fall within the scope of EE. The basic course Settings of these majors are largely similar. The professional foundation courses range from circuits, digital electronics, analog electronics to signals and control. However, there may be some differences in so-called professional characteristic courses (but in fact, the differences are not significant. As you progress, they will naturally become interconnected and all overlap).

Question

Student: EE major, junior undergraduate, preparing to apply for postgraduate studies. I want to switch to a CS-related major during the postgraduate stage. Is that possible?

Explore Planning Mentor: Absolutely possible. A hardware student's transition to software does not mean they have no foundation at all. Hardware students do have a certain foundation in mathematics and can take some algorithm courses during their junior and senior years. It is suggested that students first think clearly about why they want to switch to software. Is it for the interest of learning or from the perspective of employment? If it is merely for a good job, then one needs to assess their own learning ability.

Summary

Roughly speaking, CS-related majors are more inclined towards software, while EE-related majors are more inclined towards hardware.

At present, graduates majoring in computer-related fields are indeed more willing to take up software development positions. The reasons are no more than three aspects: First, there is a relatively large demand for software development talents; The second is that it is relatively easy to get started with software development and the learning period is also relatively short. The third point is that the added value of software development positions is relatively high.

Employment comparison between software and hardware majors

Industry

Graduates majoring in software usually work for major software companies or Internet enterprises, such as Baidu, ByteDance, Tencent, NetEase, Meituan, etc.

The target industries for graduates majoring in hardware are usually high-tech manufacturing, such as Xiaomi, Huawei, DJI, or various new energy vehicle enterprises, etc.

Position

Positions in the software professional field

The most core and highly regarded positions in the Internet industry are technical positions, product positions, and operation positions.

Technical positions typically involve research and development work, which can be divided into front-end development and back-end development.

Product positions require a certain foundation of technical knowledge. In addition, they also need to have good communication skills, coordination skills, and the ability to manage projects. The product position is suitable for job seekers with a technical background, an outgoing personality and good communication skills.

In some enterprises, the operation position is further subdivided into different roles such as content operation, product operation, market operation, community operation, and user operation. The operation position has no restrictions on the major of graduates and places more emphasis on the job seeker's past internship experience.

Hardware professional field position

The two main types of positions in the hardware professional field are divided into hardware technology research and development positions and marketing sales/after-sales service positions.

In terms of recruitment requirements, positions in hardware technology research and development usually require job seekers to have a master's degree or above. The professional background requirements for job seekers in marketing sales/after-sales service positions are also very high.

Question

Student: EE major, first year of postgraduate study. Is it possible to work in the United States after graduation?

Explore Planning Mentor: When seeking employment in hardware majors, it is necessary to consider the student's own background, such as the background of the institution, the learning situation of professional courses, oral English ability, etc., and comprehensively assess whether they have employment competitiveness. If the educational background is good and the professional courses match the recruitment position, in this case, the student's oral English ability should be considered. All hardware positions except hardware research and development can be taken into account. However, these positions all have relatively high requirements for oral English in the interview.

Summary

Overall, the demand for software professionals is greater, the entry threshold is lower, and the salary is higher, especially for technical research and development positions. However, the employment threshold in the hardware industry is relatively high, and there are few positions suitable for undergraduates.

Employment trends in hardware and software majors

From the perspective of the overall ecosystem of the current domestic IT and Internet industry, the ecosystem in the software field is relatively complete. Moreover, the software field is also a hot area for innovation and entrepreneurship, which is more prominently reflected in the mobile Internet era. A large number of small, medium and micro enterprises will carry out innovation in the software field, which will inevitably release a large demand for talents.

Compared with software development positions, the threshold for hardware research and development is still relatively high, and the overall investment scale for hardware research and development is also relatively large, which keeps a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises out. Lei Jun once said that after entering the field of hardware research and development, he found it extremely difficult. Not only does it require solving a large number of technical problems, but it also needs to be able to integrate a large amount of industry resources. This is undoubtedly a huge challenge for a start-up company.

Apart from start-ups being reluctant to enter the hardware field for development, for many graduates, entering the hardware research and development field is also relatively tough, and the overall salary and benefits level also has a certain gap compared with software positions.

Unlike software development positions, the growth cycle of a hardware R&D engineer is significantly longer than that of a software R&D engineer, and the speed of job promotion is also obviously not as fast as that of a software R&D engineer.

Finally, although high-level hardware R&D engineers currently enjoy relatively high job salaries and benefits, due to the limited environment for cultivating hardware engineers in the current industry, there are relatively few high-level hardware R&D engineers at present. This also restricts the pace of domestic enterprises' entry into the hardware field. It is believed that with the promotion of industrial Internet and related policies, In the future, more enterprises will pay attention to the field of hardware research and development, and more graduates will choose hardware research and development positions.

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