Which majors were “hot” before and after Covid-19? CEOs of major global corporations were all former students majoring in Engineering or Computer Science: Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Tim Cook (Apple), Larry Page (Google), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider (Inventor of Cloud Computing). We’ve probably guessed it by now, haven’t we? Let’s explore!

What is Computer Engineering?

Computer Engineering studies the principles and methods for designing and developing hardware and software systems that serve the operation of these hardware devices. Computer Engineering covers many aspects of computing, from designing simple electronic circuits to designing microprocessors, personal computers, and even supercomputers. It is particularly significant in designing embedded systems used in most electrical-electronic devices such as mobile phones, cars, controllers in machinery, and industrial robots. Computer engineers are trained in knowledge related to electronics engineering, software design, hardware design, and the integration of hardware and software.

What is Computer Science?

Computer Science is the study of everything related to computer structures (including all theories, rationales about applications, information, computation, and practices of computer systems), studying both offline environments and the web environment.

This field also relates to operating systems, information & data processing, programming languages for both hardware and software. Going a bit further, Computer Science also studies artificial intelligence (AI), computer security and safety issues, application design, application development, etc.

Graduates can work at: Google, Microsoft, IBM, NASA, Facebook, Adobe, Slack, Cisco, or other technology corporations.

Hot job positions for graduates from these majors: Software Developer, Database Administrator, Computer Hardware Engineer, Computer Systems Analyst, Computer Network Architect, Web Developer, Information Security Analyst, Computer and Information Research Scientist, etc.

Average salary for graduates in the U.S.: from $90,000 to over $110,000 per year.

Let’s take a look at some of the top U.S. universities offering excellent training in Computer Engineering and Computer Science:

1. University of Utah, ranked 97th NU
   • The university has a Robotics center and a natural language processing research group, helping researchers focus on human-computer interaction. The Robotics center at the University of Utah received several awards and funding in 2017 for projects such as CRII: RI: Enabling Object Manipulation by Robots Through Self-Supervised Learning.
2. Auburn University, ranked 97th NU
   • AU has a CO-OP program in partnership with nearly 200 top U.S. employers like KIA, Hyundai, Yamaha, General Electric, Daikin, Mercedes-Benz. 93% of CO-OP participants are Engineering students.
   • One of the TOP 15 universities providing scientists and astronauts for NASA.
3. University of Illinois at Chicago, ranked 112th NU
   • The program guarantees paid internships for engineering students, who can participate in these internships during the summer after completing their freshman year.
   • Some of the laboratories, including AI and natural language processing at the University of Illinois, were established in 1991. The UIC Artificial Intelligence Laboratory specializes in researching and developing AI applications in transportation, molecular biology, and electronic manufacturing optimization.
4. University of Kansas, ranked 124th NU
   • Along with MIT, Harvard, and Yale, Kansas is a member of the American Association of Universities, an organization that brings together the most prestigious research universities in the U.S.
   • One of the best universities in the world in training aircraft design, engine design, and aerospace engineering.
5. University of The Pacific, ranked 133rd NU
   • All engineering students at UOP participate in paid domestic and international internships lasting 7 months, with an average salary of $3,500 per month, working for renowned technology companies like Google, Uber, Apple, and Snapchat. The employment rate for engineering graduates is up to 98%.
6. Lousiana State University, ranked 153rd NU
   • LSU has a close partnership with IBM to provide internship opportunities and guaranteed employment for students in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, and Science.
   • The only university in the U.S. with an oil rig on campus and also the only university offering practical training programs using a real oil rig for petroleum engineering students.

Students can also consider other majors such as: Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Blockchain, Cyber Security, AI Artificial Intelligence, Data Science…

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