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What type of work does a Computer Hardware Engineer does on a day to day basis?
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3 answers
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Julian’s Answer
Hi Pius, thanks for your question and I hope things are going well for you there in Emmonak, Alaska! I would agree with Jay's comments above and just add a few more. Really, having more than 30 years experience as a computer hardware engineer, I would say that the variety of work available is almost endless and expanding every day - so really there is no such thing as a "typical" day-to-day job or routine. Within the companies throughout our industry, on any given day there are engineers working with suppliers to specify and approve components of all kinds, other engineers working in design teams creating new ICs and circuit boards, others testing designs for compliance to government safety & environmental regulations, still more computer hardware engineers working with sales teams and customers to find the highest-performance and most cost-effective solutions to their business needs, and the list just goes on and on! Not to mention the managers and executives providing leadership, many of whom started out as entry-level engineers then advanced in the company based on their technical as well as people- and business-skills. It may sound like I'm exaggerating but trust me I am not, this is truly a very dynamic and exciting career field with a huge variety of interesting opportunities to choose from.
Thank you very much for your time to answer my question! I'm for sure to keep this on my radar once I go through Job Corps to get a better understanding of Computer Tech.
Pius
Updated
Jay’s Answer
Life of a Computer Hardware engineer is generally pretty fun, and busy owing to the competition/interest everyone has in this field. The technology keeps advancing every passing moment. Hence, the computer engineers have to keep their mind open, and stay inquisitive everyday about the technologies different companies are working on. A computer engineer could be working with Signal integrity, drawing schematics, designing/developing new products, testing the systems, running system performance tests, writing scripts to automate tests, debugging system issues reported by an internal team or by the customer etc. Additionally, the aforementioned tasks could be related to any of the various component installed in the computer such as the Processor, Memory (RAM), Hard drives (ROM), Motherboard, or any peripheral connected to the computer.
An engineer also needs to attend different meetings and share knowledge, and provide updates on the projects that he/she is working on. In addition to collaborating with peer engineers and technologists, the computer engineer also might need to work closely with people from different job roles such as Product managers, Project managers, Program managers, Sales, Marketing etc. A computer engineer could also be in a customer facing role wherein he/she would have to deal with the issues that their customer is facing with their product, and make sure the issue is fixed.
An engineer also needs to attend different meetings and share knowledge, and provide updates on the projects that he/she is working on. In addition to collaborating with peer engineers and technologists, the computer engineer also might need to work closely with people from different job roles such as Product managers, Project managers, Program managers, Sales, Marketing etc. A computer engineer could also be in a customer facing role wherein he/she would have to deal with the issues that their customer is facing with their product, and make sure the issue is fixed.
Thank you Jay for your time to answer my question!
Pius
Updated
Craig’s Answer
This varies, it could be on consumer or professional desktops or laptops or commercial servers
Hi Craig! Thanks for responding - it sounds like there are many different types of jobs that the student could be asking about! Could you offer a bit more detail about one in particular? Maybe you have personal experience with one of the examples you gave above?
Alexandra Carpenter, Admin