My name is Emmanuel Casseus, I am eighteen years old and I am a student at New York City College of Technology. After a few years of thinking about what type of major I wanted to study and what career path I wanted to specialize in I ended up choosing the path of a Computer Engineer. I have quite a few reasons for choosing the career path of a Computer Engineer as opposed to other majors but the most important reason is because I not only love computers exponentially, but also because I’ve basically grown up and matured together with them. If there is one thing I believe you should know, is that I have always said that “Computers are the gateway to a life of fun and success.” Personally, I believe this is the best career path for me because: A. Computers have always helped me grow as an individual, B. I have a long history with computers and C. Computers have a very interesting life cycle. From here on in this essay, I will provide some information and background regarding my major, explain in further detail why I chose this major and finally explain what I plan to do to further excel in the future.

The first thing you’re probably wondering is what exactly is a “Computer Engineer”? A computer engineer is a person who is well versed in the construction and building of computers. A computer engineer typically strives to develop ways to make computers faster, smarter, smaller, stronger, etc. In essence, computer engineer’s jobs are to improve the computer’s ability to analyze, process and even think, much like how our brains work. Computer engineers tend to work for computer companies such as Intel, HP and Texas Instruments as well as in industries that build or use computer-based systems. Often after graduation, engineers have quite a few options as to what they should pursue for their career. Some go for big name companies like Microsoft, Apple or Google. Others tend to start small and move up from there in companies like Intel and HP. Upon graduation however, “engineers at City Tech automatically qualify for direct admission to the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying.” And most importantly the goal I want to achieve the most with my education at City Tech is a complete and better understanding of how the computers works inside and out.

To me, computers are like a strong companion that I have known for a very long time. Over the years I have learned how to use a computer more efficiently and have grown quite attached to them. To this day I can say without a doubt that computers have a strong influence in my life simply because they have helped me excel and shape who I am today. This might sound weird to others and they honestly might be thinking: “How does an inanimate object shape someone’s life?” Well firstly, let me explain what I mean by “Shape my life”. The computer itself is an interesting object. It is a gateway to many possibilities that mostly stem around something that we all use today called the internet. Computers and the internet have a shared role in shaping who I am in reality. I’m saying this because when some people look at a computer they only see machinery, a small or large box or device that is used to access the internet for multiple purposes which is often for entertainment. Although this is a true factor, I see the computer as more than a tool, as see it as an instructor. My reasons for saying this is because when you think of an instructor, you think of somebody who is smart and well versed in a certain subject or certain subjects. The instructor’s job is to not only help you understand the subjects he or she teaches but to also try and excite or interest you in the subject. This is the exact reason I see a computer as an instructor. The computer itself caused me to become interested in itself on its own. To put simply, the computers existence brewed curiosity inside me and eventually I chose to act on this curiosity and examine the computer. After examining the computer I became “excited and interested” in it which caused the curiosity I had before to evolve and manifest into a resolve. When I was younger I did not like to be social with others, I liked to keep to myself so I actually missed out on a few important things that I could have learned if I hadn’t kept my distance. It was through the use of the computer and internet that I was able to learn and figure out those exact pieces of knowledge I missed out on due to lack of communication. To keep things simplistic, computers have taught me a lot over the years and helped me not only shape who I am, but also shape how I speak to others, how fluent I am in the English language and helped me expand on my vocabulary.

To understand why I am so interested in computers, I believe you should know my history with computers to better understand me. I have been very interested in computers and technology since I was really young child. To estimate, I would say it was around the time when I was seven years old. Compared to my knowledge of computers today, back then I had absolutely no idea how to actually use a computer or what purpose it even served. The only actual thing I knew about the computer was what I learned in my elementary school computer classes and that was barely anything outside of educational programs or games. Eventually overtime I finally became interested enough in the machinery to actually try and use it. If I had to estimate I was around the age of eleven. My first experience with the device was definitely thrilling. It was one of those moments in a person’s life that they feel extremely ecstatic from learning about something new and amazing. Although, I was still a young child at the time so my actual experience and access to the computer compared to today was very restricted. Eventually as I grew older, I’d say around the time I first started high school so I was around the age of fourteen, I started to become better versed in the use of the technology. One thing I would like you to keep in mind is that I had to teach myself how to use a computer because no one else in my household knew anything about computers. Basically, for the last few years I taught myself how to use a computer and my knowledge from there expanded as I became older and my knowledge of computers has reached its peak. I know quite a bit about computers now from how “.exe” programs work, to how to modify file extensions and manage digital objects and programs. With that, you should now have a better understanding as to not only why I enjoy computers but also why I chose to pursue the computer engineer career.

And my final reason for wanting to become a computer engineer is that I believe the computer itself has a very interesting life cycle. To show you what I mean by that I have found and chosen an article regarding an important figure in computer engineering field and computers themselves. His name is Tom Kilburn and he with the help of Freddie Williams worked on the world’s first stored-program computer, the “Small-Scale Experimental Machine” (otherwise known as the SSEM). In this article I read this man named Tom Kilburn who made a significant contribution to the development of five historical computers. Kilburn was brought up in an interesting way as stated in the article: “Kilburn had a somewhat specialized education at Wheel Wright Grammar School having been permitted by his headmaster to study almost nothing else aside from math and technology around the age of 14.” It is because he was only allowed to study this that he ended up not only emerging as a specialist in mathematics, but also graduating with a high degree in mathematics. One of the few things I found extremely interesting in the article that pertained to computers is the section where it refers to a certain type of computer called a “Transistor Computer”. A transistor computer is a computer which uses discrete transistors instead of vacuum tubes. The “first generation” of electronic computers used vacuum tubes, which generated large amounts of heat, were bulky, and were unreliable. What I found the most interesting is that Kilburn along with a few other people were actually the first people to work on transistor computers and they might as well be called the inventors of them. Tom Kilburn is also the father of computer engineering’s sister occupation known as “computer science”. Kilburn did his best to establish an academic form of computing that required the highest degree of education and being well versed in the scientific and mathematic fields. Thus after many hardships and struggles the computer science major was born from Tom Kilburn’s efforts. Tom Kilburn’s efforts were one of the many stepping stones that led to the expansion and growth of the computer to this day.

To sum up the major point of this essay, the key points go as followed: A computer engineer is a person who is well versed in the construction and building of computers. A computer engineer typically strives to develop ways to make computers faster, smarter, smaller, stronger, etc. To me, computers are like a strong companion that I have known for a very long time. And computers have always had a strange yet interesting life cycle throughout these past few years. Aside from these points, I would like to draw your attention for just a few more seconds. I would like to explain something to you before we finish up here. Firstly, how I plan to excel in my major. I plan to take all the information I learned from my professors as well as outside information and mesh it all together into one. Basically, I will take my basic knowledge and new integrated knowledge and bring them together to make a form of fused information which I will later use to teach others in the future. For my plans to distinguish myself, like I stated earlier I want to take the knowledge I learn at City Tech as well as the basic knowledge that I already know and fuse them together to make a new form of information. I will use this, clean up and revise this information so that it actually makes sense and I will compare it to other explanations regarding engineering and if I find that my assorted information might be and or is more easily understood or more informative, I will use it to create a new way of explaining the subject.

Works Cited

Anderson, David. “Historical Reflections Tom Kilburn: A Tale of Five Computers” May 2014: Vol 57. Print.

New York City College Catalog 2015-2016 (City Tech). New York: New York City College of Technology, 2015. Print.

“Skip Menu.” What Is Computer Engineering? N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

“Computer Engineering Frequently Asked Questions.” UH Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.

“Welcome to the Purdue OWL.” Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2015.