4 answers
Carter
Student
1
Question
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Hardware engineers of career village, what is your job like?
What was getting your job like? What classes did you take in high school and maybe even college? And how did you come across the place you work?
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4 answers
Ruth Murphy, MS
Security Compliance and Assurance
9
Answers
Hillsboro, New Hampshire
Updated
Ruth’s Answer
If you are a hands on person ( which I am). this hob lets you be technical and allow the hands on work you may crave.
Education is items like electronics and design of hardware. Often the jobs are like "hardware engineer" as you mention or it might be an architect.
Or even a chip developers.
Education is items like electronics and design of hardware. Often the jobs are like "hardware engineer" as you mention or it might be an architect.
Or even a chip developers.
Hi Ruth, can you expand upon you answer to address this user's question? For example, how did you go about getting your job and what high school classes helped set you up for success?
Gurpreet Lally, Admin
Rahil Kabrawala
Solutions Engineer
3
Answers
Arlington, Virginia
Updated
Rahil’s Answer
Choosing Computer Engineering (CE) was the best decision I made because of the incredible career flexibility it offers, a journey that started by prioritizing advanced math and physics in high school to prepare for a grueling college curriculum packed with computer science, electrical engineering, and intense, time-consuming in-person hardware labs. Although my early career was heavily lab-based and focused on physical engineering, the booming popularity of remote work is exactly what motivated me to take the plunge into the software side where I focus today. Navigating the job market with this hybrid background makes you stand out immensely to employers because you can speak both technical languages; while I don't design hardware every single day anymore, having that deep foundational knowledge is a massive superpower that comes in handy whenever physical assets, infrastructure, or hardware limitations get involved in my professional projects.
Anuj Gupta
Software Engineering
330
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Anuj’s Answer
The answers are based on what I have seen my friends work in this field.
Short Answer: A hardware engineering career is a highly rewarding mix of lab experimentation, design work, and continuous learning, built on a foundation of intense math, physics, and hands-on debugging.
What the Job is Really Like
Day-to-day life as a hardware engineer is highly collaborative and hands-on. You are rarely isolated at a desk all day; instead, you balance your time between designing circuits using CAD software on a computer and working in a physical lab with oscilloscopes, multimeters, and prototypes. It is like solving a massive, complex jigsaw puzzle where you are constantly testing your designs, breaking them, figuring out why they failed, and making them run faster and cooler.
The Classes That are helpful
In high school, the most important classes were advanced Physics (especially electricity and magnetism) and Calculus, which trains the brain to handle engineering logic. In college, the core curriculum focused on electrical circuit analysis, digital logic design, embedded systems, and computer architecture. Even though it is a hardware track, taking basic computer science classes like C++ or Python was vital, as modern hardware engineers frequently write code to test and automate their physical chips.
Short Answer: A hardware engineering career is a highly rewarding mix of lab experimentation, design work, and continuous learning, built on a foundation of intense math, physics, and hands-on debugging.
What the Job is Really Like
Day-to-day life as a hardware engineer is highly collaborative and hands-on. You are rarely isolated at a desk all day; instead, you balance your time between designing circuits using CAD software on a computer and working in a physical lab with oscilloscopes, multimeters, and prototypes. It is like solving a massive, complex jigsaw puzzle where you are constantly testing your designs, breaking them, figuring out why they failed, and making them run faster and cooler.
The Classes That are helpful
In high school, the most important classes were advanced Physics (especially electricity and magnetism) and Calculus, which trains the brain to handle engineering logic. In college, the core curriculum focused on electrical circuit analysis, digital logic design, embedded systems, and computer architecture. Even though it is a hardware track, taking basic computer science classes like C++ or Python was vital, as modern hardware engineers frequently write code to test and automate their physical chips.
Sarah Fort Kramer
Technical Writer / Information Developer
4
Answers
Big Lake, Minnesota
Updated
Sarah’s Answer
Hello Carter, when I was in high school in the 1980s there was only one computer science class offered and I jumped at the chance! I love to write so my college Major is in English with a writing emphasis. I did not take a typical education path to my career as a Software Technical Support Engineer, a Hardware Quality Engineer (Tester), Software Engineer, and a Technical Writer.
If you find that you love to break things, a Hardware Quality Engineer may be a great job for you. I found this job on an internet job site.
If you find that you love to build things, a Hardware Engineer who designs and builds products may be something you'll enjoy.
Best of luck to you!
If you find that you love to break things, a Hardware Quality Engineer may be a great job for you. I found this job on an internet job site.
If you find that you love to build things, a Hardware Engineer who designs and builds products may be something you'll enjoy.
Best of luck to you!