Few questions about engineering from a 1st year student

[JyN]

Hi, i am a first year engineering student at the university of regina in cananda. I just have a couple questions to ask some other more senior engineer people. First off, how active are these forums? And, are there other, more active forums geared towards engineering i should check out?

What is engineering really like once you get your degree? Say i finished with a bach in electronic systems engineering (what i am most interested in right now, any comments?), what kind of job would i be able to land with that? My goal is to score an 80% average, and i am currently at about 86%.. How big of an impact will your marks have on your job outlook?

If i where to pursue a masters degree after my 4-5 year bach, what kind of effects would that have on my job outlook?

And, before anyone tells me to ask my profs/senior students at my school, i have, and i still am, i am just looking for as broad a range of opinions as possible :D

PS, what is the future of electronic systems engineering looking like? If i where to get a job designing circuit boards, would i be replaced by a computer in 15 years?

Another edit: is electronic systems engineering the best discipline to study if i am interested in the very deep inner workings and details of computers?

 

[fss]

First off, how active are these forums?

Fairly active, but there might be other engineering-specific forums you could check out. Google it.

What is engineering really like once you get your degree?

Varies wildly.

Say i finished with a bach in electronic systems engineering (what i am most interested in right now, any comments?), what kind of job would i be able to land with that?

An entry-level electronic systems engineering position, or perhaps an EE position. Do you get licensure as part of your B.S. degree? That would definitely help.

How big of an impact will your marks have on your job outlook?

Not much if they're decent.

If i where to pursue a masters degree after my 4-5 year bach, what kind of effects would that have on my job outlook?

Too far off to say. After 4-5 years you'll probably be working, so a MS might not help you at all.

PS, what is the future of electronic systems engineering looking like? If i where to get a job designing circuit boards, would i be replaced by a computer in 15 years?

Computers cannot design circuit boards.

Another edit: is electronic systems engineering the best discipline to study if i am interested in the very deep inner workings and details of computers?

Computer science or computer engineering would probably be better.

 

[RobertT]

Another edit: is electronic systems engineering the best discipline to study if i am interested in the very deep inner workings and details of computers?

I'm not sure but I wouldn't sign up for computer engineering course as my first ever degree if I wanted to study the electronics of computer system. It is too computer oriented that in my opinion, if you do not have the knowledge of Electronics, studying it might prove to be useless, hard and strenuous.

Just as I believe from my personal experience, undertaking mechanical engineering degree program without studying "pure" mathematics can not exactly be viewed as a qualified engineering course.