The nexus of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science is a dynamic field. The ones and zeroes that make up the building blocks of machine language are nothing more than electrical impulses that are either present or not present. On a molecular level, the electrons are either excited or not excited. It’s amazing to think that such small changes in a silicon chip could dictate how we interact with computers. But it doesn’t stop there. Computers are set to become molecular. (Dorrier, 2022) This means that computers will be able to generate molecules into formations the same way that DNA and RNA create human tissues. This means that humans will be able to 3-D print another human. While the ethical implications of this are still being weighed out, scientists are no doubt proceeding with this type of research and development. This is just one of the fields that I could enter as an Electrical Engineer with a Computer Science background.

In some universities, the majors of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are linked. For example, at UC Berkeley, they have an entire department known as EECS, which stands for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. (htt1) Here at UMSL, I have chosen to major in Electrical Engineering while minoring in Computer Science, to gain a similar understanding of the subject matter. The Electrical Engineering major at UMSL is also a joint major with Washington University in St. Louis. To complete this major, I first have to get done with the pre-engineering requirements, which include calculus, chemistry, physics, and engineering courses. These courses will surely expand my understanding of the core concepts in engineering and the world around me. After I finish these 12 courses, I then need to complete 20 engineering courses at the WashU campus. I have already completed the general education requirements here at UMSL, and have transferred credits from my already completed bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University.

If I take 3 courses per semester (which means that I will be taking 6 courses per year), I will complete my degree in roughly five years. This is a daunting task, because it means that I will complete my degree when I am 43 years old. Even though I will be at an age when some people are ready to retire, I am excited about the prospect of entering into the field of Electrical Engineering then.

Electrical Engineers often deal with practical applications of everyday problems and needs that society has, including power generation, electronics development, and telecommunications. I currently work in the field of telecommunications, where I perform maintenance and lighting on cell phone towers. The work I currently perform is very physical in nature, as I am actively climbing the towers daily, where I change light bulbs, electronic plates, as well as perform maintenance like sanding and painting the steel supports. I often travel out of state for work and am gone for several days or several weeks at a time. The downside of this is that I do not get to see my family during the week, but the good news is that I get to have focused time in hotel rooms during which I can focus on my studies.

My dream would be to be in a leadership role in a telecommunications company. With my advanced knowledge of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, I would have a much broader knowledge of the field than most owners in this mostly blue-collar profession. The field of Telecommunications is set to change rapidly in the coming years. The integration of 5G into our lives will mean that much more data about ourselves, our movements, and even our own bodies will be tracked in the future. The internet of things is set to explode onto the scene, transforming the way we purchase food, interact with others, and even get our entertainment. (Zorko, 2023) All these advancements pose great possibilities for my career.

Another avenue I could take with an Electronics Engineering degree with a Computer Science minor is playing a role in growing and harvesting the food we all eat. With the global population expected to rise from 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion by 2050, food demand is poised to rise significantly. Robots have a wide range of applications within the agricultural industry from performing complex tasks such as monitoring crops and measuring PH levels in the soil, to simpler tasks of picking-and-packing fruits and vegetables and planting seeds.  There are going to have to be Electronics Engineers and Computer Scientists who can take care of the various applications within this field.

With computers becoming molecular, it will not be science fiction to be able to create lifelike beings that could perform these various tasks for us, and Electrical Engineers and Computer Scientists such as myself will surely be at the forefront of these types of developments.

Bibliography

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://eecs.berkeley.edu/

Dorrier, J. (2022, November 7th). Scientists Build the First Crucial Components of a Molecular Computer. Retrieved from Singularity Hub: https://singularityhub.com/2022/11/07/scientists-build-synthetic-molecular-machines-that-can-read-data/

Zorko, L. (2023, April 14th). Latest Telecom Industry Trends in 2023: A Look into the Future. Retrieved from Tridens Technology: https://tridenstechnology.com/telecom-industry-trends/#:~:text=The%20Internet%20of%20Things%20(IoT)%20will%20continue%20to%20grow%20rapidly,will%20be%20on%20everybody’s%20mind.