Remember that computers all run on data, which is basically mathematics in its purest form. Computer engineering requires excellent math skills, both for the construction of hardware and the programming of software. It’s time to brush up on those math skills if you really want to become a computer engineer.

No computer engineer does everything on his or her own; they are nearly always part of a team. Being part of a team means you will need to be able to communicate well, interact with others, and stay abreast of team progress.

As a computer engineer, a good deal of your work will be performed by the software on your computers. You will need to know how to design a program, write the code, and then test the software for bugs. You will need to know how to write scripts, software test procedures, compatibility, and MORE - all related to software.

You need to know how a computer is built, as well as the various components that go into the computers. This doesn’t just apply to Windows computers, but also Macs and any computers that run open-source OSs like Linux.

You have no idea how many different programming languages are used to create computers and computer programs in this day and age. But as a computer engineer, you will be required to do a lot of low-level system and hardware programming that is not as user-friendly as programming in languages like Python or Java. You will need to have excellent knowledge of languages like Perl, C++, C and Assembly just to name a few.

A good deal of your time is going to be spent sitting and doing nothing but writing code. This is a task that requires A LOT of patience, which is why patience is a skill you CANNOT succeed without.

If you want to get ahead in the field of computer engineering, you’ll need to lead a team of computer engineers. If you don’t have management skills, you could end up stuck in the same position - never able to advance in your career!

Anyone who has ever tried to write computer code knows how important it is to get EVERYTHING right. One tiny mistake can ruin an entire program, and it takes a mind skilled in problem-solving to find those errors and correct them.

This goes hand in hand with problem-solving skills but is more along the lines of trying to root out mistakes by identifying the problem they are causing. Carefully examining operating errors can help you realize what is behind the issues.

You will spend a lot of your time as a computer engineer learning about new software and hardware. The ability to learn new skills fast is a quality that every employer looks for, and it will help you advance a lot further in your career!

You are always getting first hand the latest news about technology.

You realise you are the best one to solve your tech problems and usually you learn to save a lot of money doing things by yourself than paying someone for a job you might not like.

You get to know lots of people, many of them are quite eccentric, hence you broaden your point of view in many aspects, you get to know people from different parts of the world, that can motivate to move and discover the world by yourself.

It is a job you can easily find in practically all countries and in most cities as long as they are considerably big enough. It does not have to be all the time a software factory place, it could be the IT division of some company and practically all companies have its own.

You can also be a freelancer and work from wherever you want to.

The cons:

You could develop sedentarism habits if you don’t take care enough of your health.

Usually you work under stress.

Some people don’t know how to lead a team so you can be the best but your team can give bad results because of a poor management.

You can be underpaid if you work in small places, sometimes it is because they simply cannot offer more and that is OK because it means the cost of living in that place is proportional; however, some of those jobs are there because the company decided to short their budget and move the jobs to a small place so they pay a very low salary. Avoid those jobs, the communication is usually the biggest issue.