School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Stephen GrodzinskyProfessor and Chairman

Norwalk High School – Career DayMarch 15, 2001

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

• Opening Comments

• Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering

• Academic Preparation

• Job Prospects and Opportunities

• What to Look for When Visiting Universities

• Opportunities at UB

• Summation

Outline

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

Opening CommentsQ: What is the definition of an engineer?A: Someone who solves a problem you didn't know you had in a way you don't understand.

Q: When does a person decide to become an engineer?A: When he realizes he doesn't have the charisma to be an undertaker.

Q: How do you drive an engineer completely insane?A: Tie him to a chair, stand in front of him, and fold up a road map the

wrong way.

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering

• CS tends to be more SW-related, mathematical, in some cases more theoretical

• CpE is a cross between EE and CS, more applied, tends to be more HW-oriented

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

Academic Preparation

• Communication skills – e.g. writing

• Mathematics – as much as possible (language of science)

• Science – biology, chemistry, physics

• Humanities and social science

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

Chip designers, network engineers, application SW specialists, data base administrators, software engineers, web designers, programmers, systems analysts, technical support, embedded systems and microprocessor engineers

Job Prospects in the Field

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

• Faculty – who teaches the courses, access to them

• Facilities – who can use them, availability, dorm connections

• General environment

• What do the graduates do?

What to Look for When Visiting Universities

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

What to Look for When Visiting Universities (con’t)

• Class size

• Co-op or internship programs, on-campus work study

• Wireless connectivity

• Many other things

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

Opportunities at UB

• ABET-accredited computer engineering program - 1 of 2 in Connecticut.• Undergraduate research and publications. Students have

won best paper awards and placed highly in ACM programming contests• Excellent lab facilities – 130 Unix platforms and 120 PCs for Department

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport

Opportunities at UB – Student Outcomes

Graduate school – approximately 20% go directly to grad school

Industry - Sagemaker, EMC, Pitney Bowes, Northrop-Grumman, ADC Newnet, Dictaphone, Transwitch, Executone, Motorola, Sony, Lucent, Synopsis, NEC, Oracle, General Re, Lockheed Martin, IBM, UPS, SNET, Remington, Sikorsky Aircraft, Synopsys and others.

School of Engineering and Design University of Bridgeport Summation

• Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering

• Academic Preparation

• Job Prospects and Opportunities

• What to Look for When Visiting Universities