is DSP a good field to study these days vs. another engineering field

>I am trying to decide for my Masters degree if I should go study EE,
>mainly signal processing  and DSP or do another engineering field,
>which is completely different (engineering and mechanics, may be get
>into finite element analysis and solid mechanics).
>
>The problem is that I like both subjects. I took course in filter
>design and in DSP and these were fun. I think DSP might be more
>practical field, right? Since one can use it and apply in many more
>places. digital communication is everywhere for example.
>
>But I am not into hardware as much as the software and the theory and
>analysis part of the field. I do not see myself in the lab connecting
>wires and cables, but more in an office in front of a computer writing
>software for signal analysis or doing some research in the subject.
>
>I need to decide in 2 moths where to go, and so far, have not been
>able to decide. I'd like to stay at school after the MSc degree and do
>a PhD. So what ever I decide on now, will be something I stick with
>for many long years to come.
>
>Some here have worked in this field for many years. Do you still find
>it fun? Would you still recommend one to enter this field now?  If you
>had to do it all over, wold you still do DSP?

"If you had to do it all over" is not a meaningful question, because none
of us have that opportunity. Can you send yourself back to the mid 70s, to
the time where hardware was just getting to the point of making DSP
practical? If you can, going into DSP will offer you a pretty decent
career, provided you are flexible about learning new application areas.
What about the next 30-40 years? Its hard to say.

Mechanical engineering has improved a lot over the last 30 years, but it
has mostly been incremental improvement, often enabled by computer
modelling. My guess is that kind of steady progress can continue for many
years, and will always require inventive minds.

DSP has moved from its infancy to some level of maturity over the last 30
years, and it has seen radical changes (not so much in the basics, but what
you do with them). Whole areas of DSP use have blossomed, burned out, and
died. For example the V.34 modem took considerable innovation by numerous
people, sold by the truck load for a few years, and now wire-line modem
knowledge is almost irrelevant. There is a lot of activity in digital
control right now - motor control, digital power supplies, digital
management of solar and wind generators, etc. I expect that will offer
opportunities for inventive minds over the next 10 years. Beyond that, its
harder to say.

Regards,
Steve

On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:38:21 -0800, Fred Marshall
<fmarshallxremove_the_x@acm.org> wrote:

>On 2/25/2012 4:34 AM, Greg Berchin wrote:
>> That depends. If you want to enter the field because it fascinates you, then by
>> all means; yes. If you want to enter the field for career stability, monetary
>> gain, .... snip .....
>
>I know all about "do what you love" and I think I completely understand 
>it.  And, I agree with it philosophically.
>
<snip>
>
>So, choosing a field of education for career stability, market demand, 
>monetary gain, etc.  might just be really important ... as long as it's 
>something you can be good at and might even enjoy!  [exercise to the 
>student .. or is that stupident? ...  :-)   "Define enjoy"]

I agree, but that's not quite what I meant.

I have noticed a number of similar inquiries, here and elsewhere, in which the
OP is not asking the question, "What fascinates me?" Instead they are asking,
"Where can I make a lot of money?" Somehow they have the idea that becoming a
"DSP Engineer" will guarantee them financial security. 

Their misconception is twofold:
1. If they aren't "born engineers", then even if they are intellectually up to
the task, they'll never be inspired as engineers.
2. Even if they are outstanding engineers, it is not likely that they will get
rich at it.

Greg

>On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:38:21 -0800, Fred Marshall
><fmarshallxremove_the_x@acm.org> wrote:
>
>>On 2/25/2012 4:34 AM, Greg Berchin wrote:
>>> That depends. If you want to enter the field because it fascinates you,
then by
>>> all means; yes. If you want to enter the field for career stability,
monetary
>>> gain, .... snip .....
>>
>>I know all about "do what you love" and I think I completely understand 
>>it.  And, I agree with it philosophically.
>>
><snip>
>>
>>So, choosing a field of education for career stability, market demand, 
>>monetary gain, etc.  might just be really important ... as long as it's 
>>something you can be good at and might even enjoy!  [exercise to the 
>>student .. or is that stupident? ...  :-)   "Define enjoy"]
>
>I agree, but that's not quite what I meant.
>
>I have noticed a number of similar inquiries, here and elsewhere, in which
the
>OP is not asking the question, "What fascinates me?" Instead they are
asking,
>"Where can I make a lot of money?" Somehow they have the idea that
becoming a
>"DSP Engineer" will guarantee them financial security. 

You have conflated two things there. The desire to make a lot of money is
quite different from the desire to avoid dead end fields that offer little
employment stability. The latter is a *very* important issue for any sane
person starting out. Most of us have a few distinct things which interest
us, that we might choose between. For me it was fast computation and
molecular biology. I studied electronics, and then found this new field of
DSP a pretty interesting area of fast computation. Things didn't work out
too bad in the end. I applaud anyone looking for inputs about prospects
early on, rather than stumbling into a dead end, when a change of direction
can be much harder.

>Their misconception is twofold:
>1. If they aren't "born engineers", then even if they are intellectually
up to
>the task, they'll never be inspired as engineers.
>2. Even if they are outstanding engineers, it is not likely that they will
get
>rich at it.

Steve

>I am trying to decide for my Masters degree if I should go study EE,
>mainly signal processing  and DSP or do another engineering field,
>which is completely different (engineering and mechanics, may be get
>into finite element analysis and solid mechanics).
>
>The problem is that I like both subjects. I took course in filter
>design and in DSP and these were fun. I think DSP might be more
>practical field, right? Since one can use it and apply in many more
>places. digital communication is everywhere for example.
>
>But I am not into hardware as much as the software and the theory and
>analysis part of the field. I do not see myself in the lab connecting
>wires and cables, but more in an office in front of a computer writing
>software for signal analysis or doing some research in the subject.
>
>I need to decide in 2 moths where to go, and so far, have not been
>able to decide. I'd like to stay at school after the MSc degree and do
>a PhD. So what ever I decide on now, will be something I stick with
>for many long years to come.
>
>Some here have worked in this field for many years. Do you still find
>it fun? Would you still recommend one to enter this field now?  If you
>had to do it all over, wold you still do DSP?
>
>Steve
>

You will be more valuable to a company if you can do hardware and software,
as "DSP" involves as much hardware as it does software and most software
only guys, break the hardware!!

On Sun, 26 Feb 2012 13:39:27 -0600, Greg Berchin wrote:

> On Sat, 25 Feb 2012 13:38:21 -0800, Fred Marshall
> <fmarshallxremove_the_x@acm.org> wrote:
> 
>>On 2/25/2012 4:34 AM, Greg Berchin wrote:
>>> That depends. If you want to enter the field because it fascinates
>>> you, then by all means; yes. If you want to enter the field for career
>>> stability, monetary gain, .... snip .....
>>
>>I know all about "do what you love" and I think I completely understand
>>it.  And, I agree with it philosophically.
>>
> <snip>
>>
>>So, choosing a field of education for career stability, market demand,
>>monetary gain, etc.  might just be really important ... as long as it's
>>something you can be good at and might even enjoy!  [exercise to the
>>student .. or is that stupident? ...  :-)   "Define enjoy"]
> 
> I agree, but that's not quite what I meant.
> 
> I have noticed a number of similar inquiries, here and elsewhere, in
> which the OP is not asking the question, "What fascinates me?" Instead
> they are asking, "Where can I make a lot of money?" Somehow they have
> the idea that becoming a "DSP Engineer" will guarantee them financial
> security.
> 
> Their misconception is twofold:
> 1. If they aren't "born engineers", then even if they are intellectually
> up to the task, they'll never be inspired as engineers. 2. Even if they
> are outstanding engineers, it is not likely that they will get rich at
> it.
> 
> Greg

Not really. I haven't worked yet (I do have a job secured to start from 
the summer) but from the internships I've done I find one thing most 
important - you MUST enjoy what you do. Chances are you're going to be 
spending 50% of your time on the job and no amount of money can make a 
job you don't like any more appealing.

I just did 3 months of a very well paid internship (&pound;40K p.a.). I work 
very quickly so by 2pm I had finished all the work I was given and I was 
free. However, I used to work till 8 pm doing extra work(then usually get 
hammered with other interns in a club or a local pub). Anyway, even if I 
was offered twice the money, I wouldn't accept it. The job was great - 
software engineering. The working environment was top notch. Everything 
was brilliant apart from one - job was too easy => boring. So...priority 
number one on my list - you need to be inspired and want to do it.

On your second point...I don't agree again. You can get rich but DSP on 
it's own is nothing. I'd say you'll probably need to be proficient in DSP 
and Mechanical, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and all the other 
engineering disciplines you're probably thinking about. Even a monkey 
will learn DSP but a monkey probably wouldn't successfully combine ideas 
from DSP and apply them to Mechanics i.e. be smart about it. A monkey 
wouldn't be able to conjure novel ideas but only apply skills it has been 
trained. So you can make quite a lot of money with engineering. Think 
about the richest people - most of them are scientists (with the 
exception of Warren Buffet).

To the OP - if you're from CUED I'd advise you to go for ME. If you're 
not then forget the above statement.

Anyway, I don't think it matters that much what you study now - it's all 
bare basics which you will learn whether you do ME or EE. Sure DSP has a 
bit more Statistics/Probability and Sums and ME has more Linear Algebra 
and Differential Equations but they all cover roughly similar areas 
(you're still undergrad so you're still studying the very basics...like 
me by the way) and the places where they diverge you will cover later in 
a PhD anyway - you will have to. What matters most is not what you study 
but what you're interested in. Any of the above degrees will allow you to 
pursue an interest in DSP or finite element analysis. Once you have the 
interest and the advisor you will be given a direction of what to learn.

I've seen Aeronautical engineers working in software and I've seen Civil 
engineers working on control theory, embedded devices and software.