# which course should i opt for if i am interested in computers and cell phones



## YogeshCopper (Jun 25, 2013)

I am interested both in computers and cellphones.I wanted to join computer engineering since I already have some experience in C++ and java but now computer market seems to be down(14% decline in sales) IMO it has lost it to smartphones and tablet industry.Is a degree in computer science and engineering useful in smartphone industry too??If so in which the hardware part or the software part??especially the tablets and hybrid computers are confusing me.My friends say electronics and communication engineering is more related to Sphones and other gadgets and it involves diodes and capacitors,there was a lesson on that in +2 grade and i didnt like it struck me not all people who love briyani can make good briyani .In Tamil Nadu ECE is all rage but i read an article on Hindu newspaper in which an experienced ECE guy who claimed to be famous in his field said that there arent many manufacturing companies in india they import most of electronics and many graduated work in other fields due to this.

So am i to follow my gut instincts that i can overcome the difficulty of ECE out of passion for Smartphones?(first of all is ECE related to smartphones and tablets?) and it would suck if i overcome all the hardships and dont get a job in smartphone industry what if i hate it ?? +2 grade was already excruciating is there any way to know if i will like it before college ??  
or is computer science and engineering enough to get into smartphone industry??(well all smartphones are themselves mini computers right??and they are both hardware right ??)

If i choose Computer since I have experice and passion in it (computer is the only subject i am good at i mean very good)
and i am confident I can be good at it 
ECE is rather new degree and even IIT doesnt have it so does it means ECE itselves is computer engineering specifically for electronics?? and the first generation of ECE course was taught by computer engineers???

I am not getting into a good college (cant change it ) most of my studies  are gonna be on my own, I am gonna use lots of online stuff(suggest me some) so i think computer engineering is more suitable considering not much ECE material is available online 
and also ECE and CSE graduates tell how hard it was, failure and success stories etc..
Please guide me TDF members computer market is falling i dont want to be jobless or do non engineering jobs I dont feel after 20 years that i missed the train by not studying ECE I am scared.ECE and CSE guys if you are there please tell me what your course is all about ,I appreciate reply from anybody.


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 25, 2013)

What do you want to do with cellphones? make applications? Design phones? Work on the circuit design? Or something else?

Each has a different answer. Be specific about your interest in computers and cellphones, or it will be difficult to suggest something.


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## harshilsharma63 (Jun 25, 2013)

Computer Science isn't just about desktops . Check the definition of computer; it isn't just laptop or desktop, cell phones and tablets are computers too and so is a calculator and a set-top box.


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## Renny (Jun 25, 2013)

If you're interested in learning android do some courses from Lynda.com. Download a few sample videos and see if you can learn the stuff on your own.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 25, 2013)

Extreme Gamer said:


> What do you want to do with cellphones? make applications? Design phones? Work on the circuit design? Or something else?
> 
> Each has a different answer. Be specific about your interest in computers and cellphones, or it will be difficult to suggest something.


Can you give an answer for each??



harshilsharma63 said:


> Computer Science isn't just about desktops . Check the definition of computer; it isn't just laptop or desktop, cell phones and tablets are computers too and so is a calculator and a set-top box.



Yeah but do they teach about cell phone and tablets, set top box and calculator in computer science engineering (indian colleges) I dont think so correct me if I am wrong.I would be the happiest person if you are right.



Renny said:


> If you're interested in learning android do some courses from Lynda.com. Download a few sample videos and see if you can learn the stuff on your own.



Are courses from Lynda value during job interviews?? or are they only for amateur apps


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 26, 2013)

If you want to design circuits and whatnot, take EECS. For application development take CS (not necessarily engineering). To design a phone you're looking at art, CS and entrepreneurship courses.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 26, 2013)

Extreme Gamer said:


> If you want to design circuits and whatnot, take EECS. For application development take CS (not necessarily engineering). To design a phone you're looking at art, CS and entrepreneurship courses.


 how exactly CS and entrepreneurship courses(eg??) help in designing mobiles??


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 26, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> how exactly CS and entrepreneurship courses(eg??) help in designing mobiles??


Entrepreneurship will help you assimilate your ideas into the design. CS will help you be familiar with the tech you're implementing into your design. Art will help you make it look good 

Obviously you need to have a really good imagination.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 26, 2013)

Extreme Gamer said:


> Entrepreneurship will help you assimilate your ideas into the design. CS will help you be familiar with the tech you're implementing into your design. Art will help you make it look good
> 
> Obviously you need to have a really good imagination.



So you imply under CSE you study things that are used in mobiles too ??
And what are the other courses you would like me to take??

what is ECE about??


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## AcceleratorX (Jun 27, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:
			
		

> ECE is rather new degree and even IIT doesnt have it so does it means ECE itselves is computer engineering specifically for electronics?? and the first generation of ECE course was taught by computer engineers???



IIT doesn't have ECE because Electronics is a made-up branch, it's not really engineering. It was made in India to satisfy a market demand for "engineers", however it serves that purpose well. In IIT, Electronics and Communication is fulfilled by the department of Electrical Engineering as you can take ECE as a minor, or cover up with equivalent electives there.

CSE works for the software part as well as certain aspects of hardware (microprocessor architecture) for even handheld devices. So, it's not necessary that only ECE can do that work. On the other hand, ECE can actually design the circuits; but this isn't really done a lot in India and most of the big ticket money is in the architecture design and software application end. So, if you feel better with CSE, just do that. CSE grads can get into embedded systems market without too much of an issue 



			
				ECE said:
			
		

> what is ECE about??



Electronics is about semiconductor devices and circuits that utilize the flow of current. As such, you'll be studying a lot of maths and circuitry in electronics. With respect to mobiles; an ECE engineer will develop things like the radio frequency transmitter (i.e. mobile signal transmitter/receiver), the internal circuitry ("chips"), et cetera.


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 27, 2013)

AcceleratorX is correct.

Keep this in mind always:

As a software developer for cellphones, you will be spending most of your time working within the limits of existing or upcoming cellphones, so you will focus on working within the limits of what features and resources are available to you.

As an engineer designing circuits and whatnot for phones, you will look for ways to make conceptual designs a reality.

As a designer, you will try to envision what you want the phone to be in your hands.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 27, 2013)

What i want to do in mobile industry is like tell samsung or maybe micromax I will not approve your design without a camera button or any other company for that matter and other similar ideas. I dont want to design the chips to fit that way just make them listen to me (I got lots of ideas and phone designs in my mind)I only want to plant that idea in their company and some one design chips according to it (am I talking about Product Manager here or CEO??)Is that possible with CSE??

Extreme Gamer could you be specific,software developer ,engineer ,designer are all job titles!?
AcelleratorX you know a lot man thank you.
I went through syllabus of ECE and CSE and I am more inclined to CSE.Besides after finishing ECE if I didnt get to design cellphone that would suck.
whats your opinion on decline in computer sales?
is it possible to do Bachelors in CSE so that I get a taste of hardware and software and then choose to do masters in ECE or some sotware course??


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## harshilsharma63 (Jun 27, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> What i want to do in mobile industry is like tell samsung or maybe micromax I will not approve your design without a camera button or any other company for that matter and other similar ideas. I dont want to design the chips to fit that way just make them listen to me (I got lots of ideas and phone designs in my mind)I only want to plant that idea in their company and some one design chips according to it (am I talking about Product Manager here or CEO??)Is that possible with CSE??



If you are interested in software, choose CSE. if you are interested in hardware, choose ECE.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 27, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> If you are interested in software, choose CSE. if you are interested in hardware, choose ECE.



So if I choose CSE I wont have to study hardware ??


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## harshilsharma63 (Jun 27, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> So if I choose CSE I wont have to study hardware ??



Its your choice what you want to study. College's sallybus will in no case be sufficient for the type work you intend to do. c, c++, java and maybe some VB, thats the only thing they teach.


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 27, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> What i want to do in mobile industry is like tell samsung or maybe micromax I will not approve your design without a camera button or any other company for that matter and other similar ideas. I dont want to design the chips to fit that way just make them listen to me (I got lots of ideas and phone designs in my mind)I only want to plant that idea in their company and some one design chips according to it (am I talking about Product Manager here or CEO??)Is that possible with CSE??
> 
> Extreme Gamer could you be specific,software developer ,engineer ,designer are all job titles!?
> AcelleratorX you know a lot man thank you.
> ...



As a designer you will literally design the appearance and functionality of a phone, using 3D rendering software

As a software developer you will make apps like Shazam, games like Angry Birds etc.

As an engineer you will design the circuits (PCBs and components present) inside the phone a designer designs.

As a CSE student you "could" work with hardware but then you would have to choose your course offerings in that manner. I don't think you will go beyond basic circuits in the PCB level, but logical circuits and microcontroller programming should be covered in CSE.

Also look at EECS, if you can find it. It is more of a middle ground than CSE and ECE. There is also CS (without the E annd usually a BSc, not BTech, which isn't a bad thing btw) but in that your hardware level studies will be limited.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 28, 2013)

Extreme Gamer said:


> As a designer you
> 
> As a software developer you
> 
> ...



"YOU"who or what degree do you refer to????


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 28, 2013)

You over here refers to you, YogeshCopper. I was telling you what you would generally be doing in either of those fields.

No need to PM me after every one of my responses. That doesn't help, and it can be considered rude. You should allow time for the other person to respond


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 28, 2013)

Extreme gamer you imply a CSE graduate can design,develop software and chips for mobs.Did I get it right??


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 28, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> Extreme gamer you imply a CSE graduate can design,develop software and chips for mobs.Did I get it right??



Not quite. They can develop software, yes. But as far as designing chips go, you know the basics, and you can program at the hardware level, but I don't think you can make a full chip.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 28, 2013)

By the full chip do you mean connecting ports displays batteries cams to the core processor??


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 28, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> By the full chip do you mean connecting ports displays batteries cams to the core processor??



No. I meant you might design logical circuits, but you wont be working on the electrical design.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 28, 2013)

So that means companies would rather hire ECE grads to design logical circuits and Electrical design!!


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 28, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> So that means companies would rather hire ECE grads to design logical circuits and Electrical design!!



No. EECS grads can also be hired. CSE is more software oriented.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 28, 2013)

But I cant anything about EECS in india I know it is in foreign countries


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 28, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> But I cant anything about EECS in india I know it is in foreign countries



Then if you want to do electrical engineering, ECE is your best bet. if you want to work on software, do CSE or CS.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 28, 2013)

But again there not much jobs in india to actually design cell phones right
And another thing is I wont be in a good college so definitely I wont get that designing job
unless I start my own Mango company but modern phones are far more difficult to design than first apple products right......


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## Extreme Gamer (Jun 28, 2013)

Startups have done it before. You need a team for that.

Study what you think you will enjoy studying. Dont worry so much about jobs. Do well in college and apply to a cellphone maker and you will be fine.


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## YogeshCopper (Jun 28, 2013)

I am more comfortable with CSE.I guess CSE has lots of online material too which could possibly supplement any lack of teaching.. 
I am gonna sleep on that thought tonight


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## AcceleratorX (Jun 28, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:
			
		

> I went through syllabus of ECE and CSE and I am more inclined to CSE.Besides after finishing ECE if I didnt get to design cellphone that would suck.
> whats your opinion on decline in computer sales?
> is it possible to do Bachelors in CSE so that I get a taste of hardware and software and then choose to do masters in ECE or some sotware course??



The decline on computer sales won't affect CSE grads. The handheld, mobile platforms themselves require good programming and design engineers, so those jobs aren't really going anywhere, just changing a little.

Bachelors in CSE and Master's in ECE - possible in a few universities in India and many universities abroad, but you'll need to work harder going from CSE to ECE than the other way around in my opinion.



			
				YogeshCopper said:
			
		

> I went through syllabus of ECE and CSE and I am more inclined to CSE.Besides after finishing ECE if I didnt get to design cellphone that would suck.
> whats your opinion on decline in computer sales?
> is it possible to do Bachelors in CSE so that I get a taste of hardware and software and then choose to do masters in ECE or some sotware course??



The decline on computer sales won't affect CSE grads. The handheld, mobile platforms themselves require good programming and design engineers, so those jobs aren't really going anywhere, just changing a little.

Bachelors in CSE and Master's in ECE - possible in a few universities in India and many universities abroad, but you'll need to work harder going from CSE to ECE than the other way around in my opinion.


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## YogeshCopper (Jul 2, 2013)

Going with CSE now but how knows I might change my mind anytime....


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## harshilsharma63 (Jul 2, 2013)

YogeshCopper said:


> Going with CSE now but how knows I might change my mind anytime....



Actually, in first year of B.Tech, you wont get the slightest hint of what CSE is about. The subjects are not related to a particular branch.


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## YogeshCopper (Jul 5, 2013)

went to college came out suicidal all hopes lost most probably gonna skip college and become useless fellow

Life sucks when you dont have money


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## ratnadeep007gamer (Jul 25, 2013)

I like programming, software design for both PCs and embedded systems like phones etc. I like to know working of software, game, game engines,cryptography,compilers, operating systems,parallel computing, logical circuit design(AND,OR,NOT gate) etc. I have little liking to circuits, microprocessor etc. I opted for CSE B.Tech(1st year) branch. Had I taken correct decision. 
Does these things are also taught in other branch indepth.


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## harshilsharma63 (Jul 25, 2013)

ratnadeep007gamer said:


> I like programming, software design for both PCs and embedded systems like phones etc. I like to know working of software, game, game engines,cryptography,compilers, operating systems,parallel computing, logical circuit design(AND,OR,NOT gate) etc. I have little liking to circuits, microprocessor etc. I opted for CSE B.Tech(1st year) branch. Had I taken correct decision.
> Does these things are also taught in other branch indepth.



the things you have mentioned are the examples of where will the stuff you'll be learning be implemented. You are tough formulas in B.Tech, not how to use those formulas in solving real-life situations.


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## ratnadeep007gamer (Jul 25, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> the things you have mentioned are the examples of where will the stuff you'll be learning be implemented. You are tough formulas in B.Tech, not how to use those formulas in solving real-life situations.



So where the implementation will be taught I want to M.Tech CSE.


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## avinandan012 (Jul 25, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> the things you have mentioned are the examples of where will the stuff you'll be learning be implemented. *You are tough formulas in B.Tech, not how to use those formulas in solving real-life situations*.


^ In industry we call this "you know many techniques but do not have experience" in times of interview . This is the improtance of experience.


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## ratnadeep007gamer (Jul 25, 2013)

harshilsharma63 said:


> the things you have mentioned are the examples of where will the stuff you'll be learning be implemented. You are tough formulas in B.Tech, not how to use those formulas in solving real-life situations.



So, whether doing M.Tech helps in anyway...


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## AcceleratorX (Aug 12, 2013)

ratnadeep007gamer said:


> So, whether doing M.Tech helps in anyway...



It depends. For the software industry, in most cases M.Tech doesn't really help. The Master's degrees in science and engineering are meant for interdisciplinary work and research purpose in specialized areas; not to gain experience in industry-oriented applications. Many people simply don't get what an M.Sc/M.Tech/M.E is about and gain admission and then are very confused once they actually enter the course. Passing the entrance exam doesn't make you suitable; this is a fallacy of the admission system of India......I would advise you to think carefully before going for M.Tech/M.E.

@YogeshCopper: Don't lose hope; try for a B.Sc in Computer Science, IT or Electronics if the B.Tech is too costly for you. You can still do well with such qualification.


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