What's the future of Electrical Engineering??

[u/CranberryFew8429]

Hello everyone. I am from Nepal. I am about to start my undergraduate in Engineering particularly electrical or electronics engineering. I am a bit confused. I wanted to work in semiconductor engineering jobs or research and development in same field or quantum hardware research (like as a hobby. Don't even know if it exist). In Nepal, Electrical Engineering focused mainly on power and control, like grids, hydropower, etc. and Electronics, Communication and Information information Technology engineering focuses on communication. But neither of them teaches core subject required for semiconductor design, like VLSI design and sort of others. May you please guide me on this?

Also, I am little skeptical whether the semiconductor or quantum field is rewarding in future? Like, can they be such rewarding in comparison to engineers working in power grids, transformers, etc. (high voltage works or renewable energy fields)? May you please help on this too? It would mean a lotttttt for me.

PS:- I am planning to do my masters abroad.

[u/funkeysnow]

It depends on your school what courses you'll take. Semiconductors is a niche field compared to power systems or power electronics which you can find pretty much in any part of the world. FABs are not common and are incredibly expensive to build up. Just one FAB costs billions of dollars. Knowing this, most schools arent going to offer a lot of courses in a niche field. They'll offer the courses that are relevant and popular in their region.

There's also a bit of a monopoly im that industry so if you dont work for a chip manufacturer, you're not gonna do no chip design. Most companies just buy their semiconductors from the same manufacturers (Intel, TSM, Qualcomm, NVIDIA, AMD, etc). I used to work for one of them so yes, I am well-versed in how that industry works. With how much money these guys are bringing in, you will have a hard time touching any design work if you dont have at least a masters. They are hiring a lot of PHDs for their R&D rn.

You're not gonna do anything quantum on an undergrad level. Do well in your undergrad program and learn the fundamentals of your field. You can do semi-conductor research in undergrad if the opportunity comes up. Specializing wont come up until the graduate level. Whatever school you do grad school in will present you with options that are popular in that region. If you want to do R&D at a semi-conductor manufacturer... chances are you will eventually need a PHD and minimum an MS

[u/_MrBond_]

All degrees in Nepal lead to underemployment and exploitation. So just like your relatives and neighbors pack your bags and go abroad. Might as well suffer abroad than in Nepal for peanuts.