What do NVIDIA, AMD, INTEL developers study?

[Gelo]

So I graduated highschool a few months ago and I am really interested in continuing my studies and being able to achieve my goals.

I have a rather odd question and I decided it was a good idea to ask you guys.

Basically, what do I need to study to work and develop pc hardware for nvidia, amd, intel and so on?

What major should I pursue?

For the most part I am talking in general, what do most pc builders and people who fix computers study?

My ultimate goal however is to be able to at least take part in the development of a new architecture; be it a gpu or cpu or any other type

What is the right major to pursue for that?

I feel like this is what I am talented at. Since I was very young I used to unscrew and take apart the toys my parents got me to see how it works. I kept wanting to learn more and more because honestly dealing with computers and anything around them is like a passion to me.

I have learned a lot through trial and error, I built my first PC at 15 and I have been going at it for years now.

I want to be able to do good. I've seen my parents send their computers to these major comp/tech stores and charging lots of money for simple solutions to which often they do not even find the right fix to.

(simple things like a misplaced ram card causing the computer not to boot and them thinking its an os or virus)

So I thought you guys might have an idea?

[minibois]

If you want to make/develop CPU's, you need to take a look at electrical engineering. 

 

"For the most part I am talking in general, what do most pc builders and people who fix computers study?"

Nothing, they just mostly learn through experience. It's just not something that requires a college/university degree. 

Of course it will help you if you want to get a job like that if you have such a degree: but it likely won't be a necessity.

[Nocte]

Just now, Minibois said:

If you want to make/develop CPU's, you need to take a look at electrical engineering. 

 

"For the most part I am talking in general, what do most pc builders and people who fix computers study?"

Nothing, they just mostly learn through experience. It's just not something that requires a college/university degree. 

Of course it will help you if you want to get a job like that if you have such a degree: but it likely won't be a necessity.

Not elctrical engineering, but electronics engineering. They are two different things. 

[Gelo]

Just now, Minibois said:

If you want to make/develop CPU's, you need to take a look at electrical engineering. 

 

"For the most part I am talking in general, what do most pc builders and people who fix computers study?"

Nothing, they just mostly learn through experience. It's just not something that requires a college/university degree. 

Of course it will help you if you want to get a job like that if you have such a degree: but it likely won't be a necessity.

Would this involve GPUs and such? I still have trouble differentiating from computer engineering too

[minibois]

Just now, Eibe said:

Not elctrical engineering, but electronics engineering. They are two different things. 

I think this is a case of "so close yet so far", in translating stuff from my native language  Thanks for the fix!

Just now, Gelo said:

Would this involve GPUs and such? I still have trouble differentiating from computer engineering too

Yeah, it could involve those too. Since a graphics chip is basically a CPU and the graphics card is the entire system around it + the graphics chip.

I would advise you to visit some of the colleges/universities that have electronics engineering as an option and inform on career options with such degrees there.

[GoodBytes]

You will not learn a thing about GPUs architecture at school.... not any school.

 

I can only talk about Nvidia, 'cause I know.

Nvidia hires only 2 types of people:

• Senior developers that fits a specific job opening
• Juniors (with little to no experience) / Recent grads

Nvidia likes to takes Juniors, and train them since day 1 to be a GPU hardware engineer. GPU's is a field with very little market of people. That is why people working in the field are of high value (so high wage and decent to good benefits are provided). Depending on your role and what you plan to be more precisely in your career (will you want to work in memory management systems of the GPU, SM's, etc. or be a software engineer/developer and work with car systems, or drivers, etc. You'll starts by doing tests, and bug fixes. Not teh most eciting job for many, but you need to start somewhere. You'll have mentor. The idea is that you know how things works.

 

Oh I forgot... CPU and GPU design is 100% programming. Your code is converted in circuit design and processes through super computers, and a test is ran. Tests can take up to a week to execute, due to the slowness of the simulator.

 

Anyway, then once you start knowing how things works, this is where you start doing more of the fun stuff, and actually develop the next generation GPU architecture. And then, if all goes well, 3 to 5 years from now, you might see that GPU put into market, and you can say "I worked on that!".

[Gelo]

Sounds interesting. Assuming I would go for one of the engineering major stated above, I would still have to join or apply for some sort of internship program, right?

[Dissitesuxba11s]

Intel was looking for interns/newly grads when I was in college. For me, as a mechanical engineer, they told me that I would most likely be working in their plants, focusing on the manufacturing aspects of their products (ex. figuring out how to move past the 14nm design for their CPU's).

16 minutes ago, Gelo said:

I would still have to join or apply for some sort of internship program, right?

Always look for a internship even if it's not with company that you want a job with when you graduate. When you look at job listings that say entry level but with x-years of experience, they are talking about your experience in your internships. Learning from school is great and all, but what interviewers are looking for is the ability to apply that knowledge to real world problems like you would see in an internship.

[GoodBytes]

22 minutes ago, Gelo said:

Sounds interesting. Assuming I would go for one of the engineering major stated above, I would still have to join or apply for some sort of internship program, right?

Yes. the easiest way to enter AMD, Intel, and Nvidia are internships. Be aware that interviews are brutal. Unless things changed over the years,  Nvidia gives tests to those who apply at the career fair as you apply. Usually algorithm questions. If Nvidia does comes to career fair of your school, be first, as you have all day (well, until the event ends) to do the test given. It isn't to scare you, it is for you to be prepared.

 

Also, if you don't through internship, most jobs at Nvidia says that you need a Master degree, you do not need a Master degree to apply to them. Still apply.

[RAM555789]

Computer Engineering, however just because you go for a major doesn't guarantee an internship. Internships are great for getting an introduction into the workforce, get you some contacts inside a company but usually are piss poor pay if any, however, give you necessary work experience to put on a resume. Honestly though right now the careers that are less competitive and because of that are now paying more, are mechanics, plumbers, electricians, and construction workers. There are fewer people going into these jobs and as always supply and demand kick in, even with workers. It's what driving up things like shipping cost and airplane ticket prices, due to the lack of truck drivers and pilots. Honestly, I think it would be pretty cool to look into flight schools right now, because in some cases depending on what college your college financial aid looks like, you would come out with less debt. The main reason I stick with computer science in school is because I am a 25B  in the US Army Reserves and when people see that on my resume it attracts companies like flies are to honey. I would love to major in networking with Computer Science and focus on getting better transferring of data through IP since the future is going to be extremly focused on having fast speeds as the every growing field on mobile devices and virtualized gaming computers gaming computers over IP now begin to grow.

[GoodBytes]

Yes you need to apply as Computer engineer, as like I said, you'll be doing programming there. The days of doing circuit boards (unless you decide to work at EVGA, ASUS, etc. who makes the board (although, most jobs are in Taiwan, if I am not mistaken.. double check), or at Nvidia/AMD doing the reference design board, and even then... this info might be outdated) are gone.

 

That said, Internship are great for the companies, as they get to actually evaluate how you fair at the company, how you fit in the company culture, your wage is low (so low risk). So you really want to shine there. Show your interest and passion. If they like you, you like where you work, don't hesitate to talk to your manager before your internship ends (maybe 2-3 weeks before), and present that. They might offer you a second internship... and a third one... and when you graduate a job! You might even skip the interview process, as the internship was a perfect interview for them, and now the fun (and wage) comes in.

 

Please note, when you apply to AMD or Nvidia, and you want to work in the GPU section of the said company, showing up, talking about your excitement at them at the career fair (assuming that they come to your school, else apply online, which you can't do that... and your resume is just piled up in a mass database), have personal projects. Show stuff like OpenGL/DirectX (or some other GL game lib) made games. While now it is easier to make games thanks to open engines (and not have to make one from the ground up) like Unity, focus on shaders. Or do interesting stuff with CUDA/OpenCL, or mix both. The quality of work is not really evaluated. As long as it works somewhat for the engineer to have a spin, if he or she has time, but it is really to show your passion. Saying that "you have something in the works", and not have something to show, has little to no value.

 

So, focus on making something.

For Intel or AMD CPU side, you have many options. You can work with barebone metal IoT devices, you can do your own CPU architecture via simulation (even if it sucks) if you want to be fancy.

 

The idea of personal projects, beside that you show your interest, is that during your interview with the engineer. the engineer can have an intellectual conversation with you. Like: What are some of challenges that you face? (don't say, it was easy as pie, it would simply mean you learn nothing and you have the mentality of "you know everything", when you don't), what are the flaws you have and do you know how to improve on them? and so on. This is a great way for the engineer to see how you think, how you resolve problems, and see if you would fit on HIS / HER team. So there is no right answer to this. It is all about team fitting. Also, having personal projects makes you stand out from the rest. You'll be surprised by people not having personal projects, but that depends where you want to apply. For example, in the medical field (as in making software or hardware for the medical field), GPA is what maters, not

personal projects. Some companies, look for researchers more than developers. Some companies look for people that knows "book by heart " (theory based), over creative thinking. And this can change year over year, depending on the company needs and what they do. So if you don't get a call when you apply, don't give up! Or it was not meant to be (and probably you would most likely not like it there)

 

[Mira Yurizaki]

I suppose instead of asking us, why don't you have a look at their job postings and see what they require?

 

https://nvidia.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/NVIDIAExternalCareerSite

https://jobs.amd.com/go/Engineering/2566900/

http://jobs.intel.com/ListJobs/ByCustom/Intel-Job-Category/Keyword-Engineering/

[Ashiella]

6 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I suppose instead of asking us, why don't you have a look at their job postings and see what they require?

 

https://nvidia.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/NVIDIAExternalCareerSite

https://jobs.amd.com/go/Engineering/2566900/

http://jobs.intel.com/ListJobs/ByCustom/Intel-Job-Category/Keyword-Engineering/

Tryhard

[straight_stewie]

1 hour ago, Gelo said:

So I graduated highschool a few months ago and I am really interested in continuing my studies and being able to achieve my goals.

I have a rather odd question and I decided it was a good idea to ask you guys.

Basically, what do I need to study to work and develop pc hardware for nvidia, amd, intel and so on?

What major should I pursue?

Basically, if you can demonstrate that you know what a trained person your age should know about the subject, and have a degree that ends in "engineering" then you are a potential candidate. The same goes when you are applying at software companies (in fact, I know that there are at least two medium sized software companies where HR and top management prefer to hire engineers than CS majors). 

To answer your specific question, that depeneds: Do you want to know about the electrical parts of the chips, or the logic parts of the chips?
Keep in mind that, when studying either, you will be minoring in CS if you want to be any good. You can minor in other things, but don't do that. 

[Gelo]

36 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

I suppose instead of asking us, why don't you have a look at their job postings and see what they require?

 

https://nvidia.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/NVIDIAExternalCareerSite

https://jobs.amd.com/go/Engineering/2566900/

http://jobs.intel.com/ListJobs/ByCustom/Intel-Job-Category/Keyword-Engineering/

I did check it out but I was still unsure, so I thought asking people would be helpful

 

just a confused guy wanting to go somewhere in life; I am passionate about hardware.

 

 

 

edit: I have asked some people about it and they have told me to go for micro engineering, which has made things even more confusing. 

[Theguywhobea]

So as someone who has graduated college with a degree in Computer Engineering and does not work at Nvidia or AMD, here's my take.  I'm sure it's different at every school, but at my college our course was basically half software engineering courses, a little electrical, IT, lots of math, and 1 or 2 dedicated Computer Engineering courses. I'd say the most similar thing to making GPU stuff was programming FPGA's, which we only did for one semester. We did learn quite a bit about computer architecture and theory, but not nearly to where you could do anything right off the bat. I found when searching for jobs that most companies don't have a clue what Computer Engineers do, and they are mostly looking for Software Engineers or Electrical Engineers, of course I didn't apply at Nvidia or AMD, but that has more to do with being on the East Coast probably.

[Guest]

Chemical engineering is what my teacher studied to operate the machines printing wafers of chips for the Xbox 360, wii, and ps3. All came off the same factory.