2 answers
Muntaz
Student
Rochester, Minnesota
2
Questions
Asked
948 views
Hi, I'm doing a research project on a computer hardware engineer. would some computer hardware engineer answer a couple questions ?
1. what is a day to day life as a computer hardware engineer?
2. what made you choose this field?
3.How long did it take you to get the hang of it?
4.Do you work with building circuits and chips for computers?
5.Do you design anything?
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2 answers
Alejandra Ortiz
Freelance
2
Answers
Mexico City, Mexico
Updated
Alejandra’s Answer
1. what is a day to day life as a computer hardware engineer?
If you're in delivery this will be part of your life to open computers if require or monitor since a console, talking to customer, you'll be the it advisor
2. what made you choose this field?
I study engineer systems in my case it was to because i like the innovation and all the things that you could do with this so i was like a trainee building demostrations for customers at the end was involved in IT business, defining strategies so for my was i dream come true study that and applied and share with customers
3.How long did it take you to get the hang of it?
Depends if you want to build in a technical i consider 2 years to understand the role and then follow the path that you want to build in technical.or business
4.Do you work with building circuits and chips for computers?
No, i implemented demos for customers, unpack servers, storage , but there is a role that do that job and is terrific integrated all the components i supposed like play with with legos
5.Do you design anything?
My last point was to designed initiatives to bring business to the company ...so i loved it
If you're in delivery this will be part of your life to open computers if require or monitor since a console, talking to customer, you'll be the it advisor
2. what made you choose this field?
I study engineer systems in my case it was to because i like the innovation and all the things that you could do with this so i was like a trainee building demostrations for customers at the end was involved in IT business, defining strategies so for my was i dream come true study that and applied and share with customers
3.How long did it take you to get the hang of it?
Depends if you want to build in a technical i consider 2 years to understand the role and then follow the path that you want to build in technical.or business
4.Do you work with building circuits and chips for computers?
No, i implemented demos for customers, unpack servers, storage , but there is a role that do that job and is terrific integrated all the components i supposed like play with with legos
5.Do you design anything?
My last point was to designed initiatives to bring business to the company ...so i loved it
Kirthi KN
Computers
35
Answers
Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Updated
Kirthi’s Answer
Hi Muntaz,
That is a great choice for a research project. I worked as a Hardware Engineer as well. We used to design and test massive amounts of physical equipment (routers, 5G nodes, and server racks) to make that service work.
Here are the answers to your questions based on my experience:
1. What is a day-to-day life as a computer hardware engineer? It is rarely just sitting at a workbench with a soldering iron! My day is usually split:
40% Simulation & Design: I spend a lot of time on a computer using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software. We have to simulate how a circuit will behave before we build it because building physical prototypes is expensive.
40% Lab Testing: Once we build a prototype, I’m in the lab stressing it. I heat it up, freeze it, and run max power through it to see if it breaks.
20% Failure Analysis: When a piece of hardware fails in the field, it gets sent to me. I have to use microscopes and logic analyzers to figure out exactly which tiny capacitor or chip failed.
2. What made you choose this field? I started in Computer Science but realized I didn't like that I couldn't "touch" what I was building. With software, if you make a mistake, you just hit delete. In hardware, if you make a mistake, the board might smoke or spark! I liked the high stakes and the physics of it. I wanted to understand how the electricity actually moves to make the computer "think."
3. How long did it take you to get the hang of it? Honestly? It took about 2 years after college to feel confident. In school, everything works perfectly in the textbooks. In the real world, things overheat, signals get crossed, and parts are defective. The first time I designed a board at work, I made a mistake that cost us a few thousand dollars, I received very harsh feedback (that was for my good, a very hard lesson to learn from). You learn very quickly after that!
4. Do you work with building circuits and chips for computers? We build Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), which are the green boards that hold the chips. However, very few engineers actually "build" the tiny black chips (CPUs/processors) by hand. Those are made in billion-dollar factories called "fabs." As a hardware engineer, I choose which chips to buy, and then I design the "roads" (copper traces) that connect those chips together to make them work as a system.
5. Do you design anything? Yes! I design the schematics (the map of electricity) and the physical layout of the board. It will look like a complex city map. I decide where every single resistor, memory chip, and processor sits so that they fit inside the case and don't get too hot.
Good luck with your project!
That is a great choice for a research project. I worked as a Hardware Engineer as well. We used to design and test massive amounts of physical equipment (routers, 5G nodes, and server racks) to make that service work.
Here are the answers to your questions based on my experience:
1. What is a day-to-day life as a computer hardware engineer? It is rarely just sitting at a workbench with a soldering iron! My day is usually split:
40% Simulation & Design: I spend a lot of time on a computer using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software. We have to simulate how a circuit will behave before we build it because building physical prototypes is expensive.
40% Lab Testing: Once we build a prototype, I’m in the lab stressing it. I heat it up, freeze it, and run max power through it to see if it breaks.
20% Failure Analysis: When a piece of hardware fails in the field, it gets sent to me. I have to use microscopes and logic analyzers to figure out exactly which tiny capacitor or chip failed.
2. What made you choose this field? I started in Computer Science but realized I didn't like that I couldn't "touch" what I was building. With software, if you make a mistake, you just hit delete. In hardware, if you make a mistake, the board might smoke or spark! I liked the high stakes and the physics of it. I wanted to understand how the electricity actually moves to make the computer "think."
3. How long did it take you to get the hang of it? Honestly? It took about 2 years after college to feel confident. In school, everything works perfectly in the textbooks. In the real world, things overheat, signals get crossed, and parts are defective. The first time I designed a board at work, I made a mistake that cost us a few thousand dollars, I received very harsh feedback (that was for my good, a very hard lesson to learn from). You learn very quickly after that!
4. Do you work with building circuits and chips for computers? We build Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), which are the green boards that hold the chips. However, very few engineers actually "build" the tiny black chips (CPUs/processors) by hand. Those are made in billion-dollar factories called "fabs." As a hardware engineer, I choose which chips to buy, and then I design the "roads" (copper traces) that connect those chips together to make them work as a system.
5. Do you design anything? Yes! I design the schematics (the map of electricity) and the physical layout of the board. It will look like a complex city map. I decide where every single resistor, memory chip, and processor sits so that they fit inside the case and don't get too hot.
Good luck with your project!
Dear Kirthi,
Thank you so much for answering my question I really appreciate it. Your explanation was clear and helped me understand everything I was confused about. It means a lot that you took the time to respond, and I learned more from you than I could’ve from Google. I now have a much better inside view of what a hardware engineer does.
Thank you again for your help!
sincerely, Muntaz
Muntaz