HELP! Homeschooler...Need ideas for a Computer Engineering Degree

[alab21]

Hello!

My son is 16 and we home school.  He is not very motivated in general...doesn't really know what he wants to do... but has shown interest recently in engineering (programming code that tells electrical components what to do).  

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Thanks so much! 

I work in this field, called "embedded software" which basically means instead of writing software for people to use on a general purpose computer, you're writing software to control devices. Everything from your microwave oven, to the entertainment system in your car, to the radar and avionics in aircraft require embedded software to work.

There are three main degrees people who work in this field have:

Electrical Engineering: You study electrical circuits and learn to design everything from the electrical service for large building or the design of computer circuit boards, or even semiconductor design. It's a "hardware" degree rather than a "software" degree although a EE will also learn enough programming to write software, especially for directly controlling hardware. A significant number of embedded software engineers have this degree.

Computer Science: You study the science of writing computer programs. This includes algorithms, computer architecture, computer languages, systems analysis, etc... I'd say most embedded software engineers will have this degree.

Computer Engineering: This degree integrates parts of both of the above. It would be a solid choice for someone who wanted to enter embedded software, although it's less common simply because it isn't offered as widely.

The general ed credits for all three (I'm speaking generally) are going to be much the same. Math through Calculus (how much calculus varies), Linear Algebra, or Discrete Math. He'll also need science with labs for most schools. Personally, I wouldn't tie a 16 yo down to the Big3 for this field. I would instead try to get real college credits from a community college. I would have him aim at getting good grades, applying to a good school, and trying to score a good aid and scholarship package. WGU and the Big3 will always be there, but a degree from a decent engineering program will make a significant difference.

In the meantime, in the name of developing his interest further, I'd suggest he start experimenting and teaching himself a bit. The Arduino Starter Kit is a cheap and simple way to get his feet wet in both hardware and software. It comes with a how to book of interesting projects. 

https://store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-starter-kit

Thank you so much for all this information!  Very helpful! You said pretty much what my brother said.  And, actually the reason I am looking at this field is because we got him an Arduino Kit and it's the one thing he's shown interest in (I mean, he'd rather play video games...sigh...but it's something he's sticking with).

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I'm concerned that a decision to pursue a degree he hasn't expressed interest in is being made before he even sees what kind of financial aid he will qualify for. A computer science degree is not a computer or electrical engineering degree.

I'm definitely not trying to make a decision about a degree for him at this point.  I just needed some kind of general direction to head with him. And of course that could change. How many kids know what they want to do at 16?  Not very many.  But, as a parent - I'm choosing curriculum each year and then trying to align that with tests he can take to get college credit.  Having in my mind that he likely will not go to one of the Big 3 actually helps me in my planning.

Have you looked for any robotics teams? There are many different jobs on the team that resemble some real live jobs. FIRST has two programs for this age. FRC (FIRST Robotics Championships), and FTC (FIRST Tech Challenge). FTC is lower budget and you might find a neighborhood team. Or a school might let him join either one. FRC is big budget and usually only schools have them - the team gets paired with engineers, often through companies. They work side by side with engineers to learn, but it’s very common to see the adults doing a lot of the work. In FTC the kids are supposed to do all the work, with advice from mentors and coaches. All FIRST programs are international and they have 2 world championships usually on back to back weekends (Houston and Detroit), bc there are so many teams competing. Worlds is awesome! <3

BEST Robotics is another program, this one is sponsored by Texas Instruments. As of a couple years ago, it was free to compete. The only costs were machinery and if you want to buy the robot components that normally are returned end of season. They send a box of consumables that get machined into parts, such as wheel hubs or harvesters or arms. BEST is much heavier in mechanical design, but I understand they’ve added some low end sensors for better automation in recent years. Occasionally I come across a BEST homeschool team. The cost for this is so low, it’s nice for homeschoolers.

Vex Robotics is another competitive robotics program. I know less about this, only what I’ve seen.

There are also college teams in various areas. We had a guy in one of our FTC trainings that coached a sort of college level battlebots team. I’ve seen posters for something at my son’s community college. He just started dual credit, so I haven’t looked into it.

There are other challenges too. Solar Car challenge —this was on my radar, as it often launches from the Texas Motor Speedway. It’s very expensive, bc you’re building a solar powered vehicle that drives on a road. They get sponsors to help with costs and mentors.

Some makerspaces have classes and resources. The one in Dallas was discussing starting a battlebots team, I don’t know if it ever got off the ground. One of the members has competed previously. If you have access to one of these groups, even without a robotics team, he may find something that really grabs his interest. Ours hosts DPRG meetings monthly, where they discuss all things robot related, and they host competitions. For example, some meetings are specific to arduino/add ons.

I noticed UTD had drone courses last summer - this is an important and developing field. There might be courses (I think they were 1 credit survey courses for 6-8 weeks), where he could get his hands on things.

Nutshell-maybe see what’s available locally to get him more hands on experience and give him a chance to try things out.

Doing some CLEP in the meantime, as others mentioned, is a great idea. I have syllabi for USH1-2, American Gov and American Lit that can be done together, since there’s lots of overlap, if you want it. The first 3 seem to be required courses for every degree I’ve found so far. If the school accepts CLEP at all, they probably accept these and apply to degrees. They’re good ones to start with, and not too hard IMHO.


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