I didn't think I'd like it this much. We go over things like verilog, locality, virtual mem, microprocessors, energy-efficient processor design (at a high level), ISA, etc. Dude, this is all so interesting. I think this is something that I want to work with after graduating. Would I need to go to grad school for an MS or PhD? I'm honestly really enjoying it so wouldn't mind. I've done some web internships but was bored out of my mind lol. Should I be seeking 'computer architecture' jobs in the future? thanks #intel #nvidia #qualcomm #meta #microsoft
Sounds like you should look more into embedded software/firmware as a career path. Take an embedded systems course, I have a feeling you will really enjoy it too
Good idea. Haven't taken electromagnetism yet, but I'll take an embedded systems course soon as I can. Thanks
Definitely very interesting. I’m thinking about building a soft core using Verilog on FPGA, build an OS, bootstrap a compiler and write a few games for it. This basically spans the most important courses in CS.
Yeah, that definitely encompasses like a good amount of ECE also lol. We're actually building a soft core using verilog on an FPGA. Go for it!
Any tutorials?
I liked the topic before I went but the terrible R***** professor ruined it for me by having us doing rote and extremely complex branch prediction exercises
sorry, you will be handling support tickets instead of inventing the next CPU architecture.
Come to Q
Probably the worst company I have ever worked at, it was so bad I literally rage quit hardware. Don’t do it OP, aim high for Nvidia or one of the AI hardware start ups.
That's precisely what I'm interested in. Efficient hardware systems for ML at scale. I've been looking at some companies and startups, yeah, but not ready to apply yet. What was wrong with qualcomm? What sort of hardware were you doing?
PhD is needed
Career options if you want to work in architecture field, it's very broad: 1. Microarch : These kinds of jobs involve emulation/simulation work to come up with a new arch. 2. Rtl design: These jobs you get to code a asic chip. 3. Backend design: board layouts and packaging 4. Silicon verification: writing test code to verify correct functionality of the silicon. Needs a indepth full chip knowledge 5. Driver/firmware software: writing code for bare metal. Needs programming level understanding of systems. 6. Kernel/Device drivers: Need knowledge of operating systems concepts like scheduler, memory manager etc. 7. Compiler development: needs understanding of arch for generating code. Also compiler concepts for generating performant code. 8. Eda tool design: enables microarch and hardware development. Each of these fields are also active fields of research. Hopefully this post helps you with some insight.
Do you need PhD for all these ?
PhD is not needed a master's would be sufficient. However if there are subcategories which are active fields of research say quantum computing, then barrier to entry for such super specialized jobs will be much higher.A PhD gives you immediate opportunities. However with PhD you need to be careful on what field you are picking. It's a big commitment
Computer architecture is a good class but most jobs aren’t at that level unless you have a PhD and work your way up to an architect type position which is going to take years at a large company.
Your aim for higher level arch is a life saver since you will fall into the software industry instead of the VLSI industry. The latter is a bit.. archaic, stressful and low paying. In terms of job profiles, Embedded sw seems to be the best fit for you, maybe performance modelling too, but be a bit careful there or you might end up tightly coupled to the tapeout cycle. Best area is always going to be research & projects. Building, balancing within constraints, and removing bottlenecks is going to be the best time you will have with arch and employ everything you know and more. For me, the boring part is to trying to match compatibility and specifications, which I think is much of Arduino work, so I did not get too much into it. The niche part for people who are cracked in their mind is computer architecture security, which can lead you to discover something like plundervolt or spectre. Maybe you can use it to steal weights of an AI model running on the same GPU card as your program lol.
Today I Learned
Yesterday
445
My understanding of the Holocaust was incorrect!
World Conflicts
Yesterday
689
Screw it. Don't care anymore. Let Israel take it. One state solution.
Software Engineering Career
Yesterday
1181
Why does leetcode get so much hate?
Tech Industry
Yesterday
1006
Quit high tc job for a girl
Health & Wellness
Yesterday
1236
I hate my f***** life
These jobs don't exist
No, they do. At Nvidia, apple, Google, Meta etc Anyone who produces any HW/driver related sw
Lol what?