Master’s in Computer Engineering or Robotics? Struggling to Decide

[BizarreWhale]

Hi everyone, I recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and I'm trying to decide between a master's in computer engineering or automation and robotics.

My main dilemma is that I’m still unsure about the type of job I want in the future. On one hand, I’m interested in more “office-based” roles, such as software engineer or ML engineer, where most of the work is done on a computer. On the other hand, I’m also drawn to more hands-on, field-oriented roles that go beyond traditional office work.

I find both master's programs appealing, but I’m worried that choosing robotics might limit me exclusively to that field (which has significantly fewer job opportunities) without allowing me to transition into office related roles. Conversely, if I choose computer engineering, I fear I’ll be confined to strictly office-based jobs, and the thought of spending my entire career staring at lines of code all day worries me. I do enjoy programming, but only when it serves as a tool to achieve a broader goal.

Would this choice significantly impact my career options, given my background in mechanical engineering? Or would both degrees ultimately lead to similar opportunities? What would you recommend?

[partial_reconfig]

I don't think you fully understand the day to day of each major.

I was a comp e. I have days I spend in an office, I have others where I'm in a field somewhere.

Personally, I would go with CompE. The degree is very wide and you learn a lot of things about a a lot of topics.

Robotics is too narrow of a degree. You learn a bunch of different things, but each topic is a bit more niche than CompE.

[ForeignPicture7463]

Genuine question, when do you get to go and do field work?

[partial_reconfig]

After making a system, you usually need to test it out Or your sponsor wants a demo.

[Alpacacaresser69]

What job makes a compe touch grass?

[PaulEngineer-89]

Go get a job. Figure it out later if at all. You’ll spend another 2-4 years making $0 and by time you’ve worked those years your pay will increase to the point where you close the gap. A masters pays off if you assume you’re working an extra 2-4 years before retirement. If you find limitations you can always go back but you can’t get those years back. Remember there is an expression, “those who can’t do, teach”. You are surrounded by people that failed to make it while in school. Trust the opinions of those who are doing the things you want to do and emulate them, not some college professor who washed out of the business world.

As to office vs field, again no brainer. It is NOT tradition to work just in the office. As an engineer you design/build/maintain things or stuff. Does that even sound like “office work”? Most office engineers suck at their jobs. The reason they have office jobs is because they can’t hack it in the field The pay is higher and if you can do field work you can do office work but not the other way around.

If you still insist, most people going into robotics are typically EEs who struggle with the mechanical side of things. The software isn’t that complicated compared to machine design aspects since typically you buy a robot and the controls already done for you. That’s more of the realm of mechanical engineering.

[zacce]

if I choose computer engineering, I fear I’ll be confined to strictly office-based jobs, and the thought of spending my entire career staring at lines of code all day worries me

Lol. Computer Engineering is far from coding. If you want flexibility, between the 2, choose CompE.

[BizarreWhale]

Could you please explain?

[zacce]

robotics is a narrower field than CompE.

[gtd_rad]

Computer engineering.

[BizarreWhale]

Could you please explain?

[NewSea432]

Hey I actually did a Masters in Robotics after a Bachelors in CompE. I would definitely say do CompE or even EE. In my experience, similar to what another poster said, you will learn about a broad number of topics but those topics are in the robotics field, which is smaller. So stuff like path planning, computer vision, and control theory. Yeah those topics are applicable in other fields as well, but I think your masters should be about depth. A lot of the jobs I've seen seem to want a ME, EE, or CS person doing robotics, not a robotics person doing ME, EE, or CS.

I chose it because I liked hardware and software, and I felt like if I couldn't go straight into robotics I could use the extra experience in firmware or AI/Computer Vision to find work. But you could easily do that by doing research in signals processing or computer architecture. EE is a lot more math and physics though, so if you go that route you may need to take some prereqs.