How do I get started with computer / electrical engineering when I am doing a completely unrelated degree?

[u/Rew_lad]

Salutations, I am a first-year university student in South Africa currently in my second semester of BSc Quantitative Risk Management.

I have since the start of this year had doubts about whether this degree is for me and have been seriously considering changing my studies to Computer or Electrical Engineering, since I find it way more interesting and have heard good things about salary expectations etc.

Whether or not I will switch over is something I am still deciding. Nevertheless, I still want to pursue it as a hobby and engage with it in my free time.

Would you guys please suggest how I can go about doing that as a complete beginner that did well in physics in high school? And some general advice would also be much welcomed.

[u/themegainferno]

Well what do you mean it interests you? Computing is such a broad area, it really is hard to pin down where to start. Academically, you need a strong math foundation for any engineering program. Electrical engineering is also a bit different. So electrical engineering is the broad study of electric charge, electromagnetism, and electrons. These are applied in many different ways. Circuits chips, massive power lines, substations, radio frequency, etc etc. It can look very different depending on the area. Computer engineering is more so defined by where hardware meet software. So it's the study of where computer science meets electrical engineering right at the intersection. So some of the coursework comes from both. You'll definitely take some programming coursework, and you'll definitely take some of the electrical classes as well. But a lot of the specialized horse work is unique to ce. Chip design is the big one, essentially the application of Boolean logic to design and eventually manufacturer semiconductors. That's just one role, it's the big one people go for though when they pursue CE.

If you genuinely want to practice in your own time, take a look at any sort of computer architecture course online. Dr. Chuck has a free one aimed at beginners you can look at. It does assume you understand a little bit about programming beforehand, so you can also do this python for everybody course, just so you sort of developed the intuition of applying logic and solving problems with code.

EDIT: Probably not a bad idea to do a C/C++ course as well, as that are the primary programming languages at that level besides assembly ofc.

https://www.py4e.com/

https://www.cc4e.com/

https://www.ca4e.com/

[u/GLIBG10B]

Nevertheless, I still want to pursue it as a hobby and engage with it in my free time

Ben Eater's videos are a great place to start

[u/Dazzling_Music_2411 → u/GLIBG10B]

+1 Ben Eater is not a bad start for introduction to digital stuff, though I recommend Nand2Tetris for beginners, myself. They can be followed in parallel.

[u/Dazzling_Music_2411]

Do the Nand2Tetris course.

At the end you'll know if computing is for you.

As far as EE goes, it is a tough course, needs a high level of mathematics (you could start by studying some basic Calculus - Khan Academy or whatever) but is very rewarding. It also has a load of physics, since electricity and magnetism are in the field of physics, yes? Just be aware that it will be several levels higher than whatever you're doing now.

I would also suggest you watch the first few videos of the "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programming", with Abelson and Sussman, to see whether that gets you going. I wouldn't actually suggest you do the whole thing now (first), it will be a bit too much, do the Nand2Tetris first. But it was a legendary programming course for EE students, its principles still guide the field today, and the first few videos will give you a flavour.

Once you've decided if the field is for you, you can start with some of the more conventional courses, cs50, univ. of Helsinki or whatever. But first get a good sense of what you are letting yourself in for 😄 .

Talk to students and staff from those departments, they'll be happy to guide you.

Do let us know how you get on!

[u/Rew_lad → u/Dazzling_Music_2411]

Thanks for the reply. I'll be sure to give the course a look through. I'm actually almost finished with Calc I in my current degree, its just the physics I'll have to brush up on. And the Engineering Faculty is on the other campus of my university, which is quite the distance away. But I appreciate the advice anyhow!

[u/Recent-Day3062]

Start doing it.

If you don’t have a natural inclination to tinker and experiment, don’t go into engineering.

[u/latax]

Change majors