[INQUIRY] Blockchain related major in Computer Engineering

[Insanerman]

Good Day Folks!

I have been inactive for quite a few months due to the pressure and great deal of workload in academics. I am now a Freshman Student of Computer Engineering in our local University and I just got curious what major in Computer Engineering should I take wherein the development of blockhain technology is included.

I am just fascinated how blockchain works when it comes to financial industry. Blockchain technology is advancing at a very fast pace and most of the different sectors that makes up the society are utilizing the perks of the said technology.

The major subjects offered in Computer Engineering in our local University are as follows:

Machine Learning
Software Development
Technopreneurship
Embedded System
Network Administration
Signal Processing
Operating System
Information Systems
Telecommunications
Signal Processing
Control Systems and Instrumentation

Also, I am interested when it comes to financial area. I would like to combine my little knowledge when it comes to finance and my course!

[franky1]

cryptography/encryption is key
everything else about blockchain is childs play/pre college level stuff

[fiulpro]

Hey
I was doing CSE too and unfortunately we didn't have a major in blockchain and cryptocurrencies, you should understand that it might depend where you live , the government opportunities might be scarce if you live in a area which doesn't support it .
If you are in a area which is open minded and the opportunities are available you could lead a good life , before doing anything think about placements first ..

[Insanerman]

cryptography/encryption is key
everything else about blockchain is childs play/pre college level stuff

I just dont know if encyption and cryptography stuff are included in our curriculum, but I bet that software development who specializes programming and information system are related to blockchain technology. Network administration is also close enough when it comes to smart contracts I think.

Hey
I was doing CSE too and unfortunately we didn't have a major in blockchain and cryptocurrencies, you should understand that it might depend where you live , the government opportunities might be scarce if you live in a area which doesn't support it .
If you are in a area which is open minded and the opportunities are available you could lead a good life , before doing anything think about placements first ..

Fortunately, the use of bitcoin is legal here in our country but I don't think so that they are focusing on the use of blockchain technology. The only thing I see is that banks are taking advantage of blockchain technology when it comes to remittances and online money transfers. 

[The Sceptical Chymist]

cryptography/encryption is key
everything else about blockchain is childs play/pre college level stuff

I can't vouch personally for your second statement, but I'd agree that the first part is true--I wish I'd studied more math and some cryptography in college.  Too bad that bitcoin's introduction was still years away when I graduated, and I don't even think my school offered anything in cryptography, nor was I interested in it at the time.

Regardless of how much of either one OP studies, I bet he'll have an excellent understanding of blockchain tech if he continues his course in computer engineering.  There are some brilliant experts in computer science on this forum, and that knowledge almost seems to come with the territory--plus OP will be viewing much of what he learns through the lens of bitcoin/blockchain tech.  And I swear if I ever went back to school, it'd be for computer science.  That's another thing I wish I'd studied when I was a college student.  I didn't take so much as an elective in it.

you should understand that it might depend where you live , the government opportunities might be scarce if you live in a area which doesn't support it .

Even if they don't, a degree in computer engineering is useful in itself--and that's an understatement.  And if OP is smart enough to graduate, I've no doubt he'll be smart enough to educate himself in what he wants to learn about with regard to blockchain tech.

[zviadits]

Good Day Folks!

I have been inactive for quite a few months due to the pressure and great deal of workload in academics. I am now a Freshman Student of Computer Engineering in our local University and I just got curious what major in Computer Engineering should I take wherein the development of blockhain technology is included.

I am just fascinated how blockchain works when it comes to financial industry. Blockchain technology is advancing at a very fast pace and most of the different sectors that makes up the society are utilizing the perks of the said technology.

The major subjects offered in Computer Engineering in our local University are as follows:

Machine Learning
Software Development
Technopreneurship
Embedded System
Network Administration
Signal Processing
Operating System
Information Systems
Telecommunications
Signal Processing
Control Systems and Instrumentation

Also, I am interested when it comes to financial area. I would like to combine my little knowledge when it comes to finance and my course!

Most likely, the technology of artificial intelligence will be an advanced technology in the near future. So in my opinion a machine learning sounds the most interesting and promising

[franky1]

Network administration is also close enough when it comes to smart contracts I think.

nah network administration is more about setting up physical networks that are fixed. like cabling servers together, and how to remote access pc's to maintain them. you know administrating a network.
blockchains whole purpose is that there is no network admin.

bitcoins distributed network is independant computers that are peer-to-peer. meaning all you care about is connecting to the computer next to yours, not having to worry about the whole network.
most people simply learn how to program a script that can ip connect to another pc and send a message. as thats basically all you need to really care about if you simpllfy down what blockchains do

id say software development would rank as a high requirement along with cryptography.. and things like network administration and machine learning nearer the bottom.

machine learning can be fun and definetly the next tech industry just beginning, as a secondary career direction but for blockchain specifics which are financial related. thats usually best where the code sets the rules and sticks to them and doesnt try self learning new things, because each peer would be running off in different directions and causing chaos to any financial based blockchain

[Insanerman]

I can't vouch personally for your second statement, but I'd agree that the first part is true--I wish I'd studied more math and some cryptography in college.  Too bad that bitcoin's introduction was still years away when I graduated, and I don't even think my school offered anything in cryptography, nor was I interested in it at the time.

Honestly, mathematics is the most difficult subject for me right now especially the college algebra calculus LOL . I also enjoy and excel in one of our major subject which is Computer Programming Logic and Design and I felt like I needed to study more and acquire knowledge since it is one of the very basic skill we need to master as a Computer Engineer.

Regardless of how much of either one OP studies, I bet he'll have an excellent understanding of blockchain tech if he continues his course in computer engineering.

Can I take this as a compliment? THANKS it means a lot to me.

Even if they don't, a degree in computer engineering is useful in itself--and that's an understatement.  And if OP is smart enough to graduate, I've no doubt he'll be smart enough to educate himself in what he wants to learn about with regard to blockchain tech.

Thanks for reassuring me that I have chosen a good course that can impact my entire life I'll make this as a motivation to study more regarding blockchain technology. Thanks for the answer btw!

[Kyraishi]

Don't think a lot of places have blockchain/cryptocurrency majors, the technology is way too new and schools lack the resources to be able to hire teaching staff to help people learn about these new technologies.

One of the problems, when new technology is invented and becomes mainstream enough where universities and colleges are looking to teach courses about them, is finding teachers and people that are skilled enough in the field, and also want to be teachers. There was a bit of this problem during the time where computers became popular and advanced pretty quickly.

I'd go with software or machine learning. Both are very crucial for the future of our society and are very interesting.

[franky1]

Don't think a lot of places have blockchain/cryptocurrency majors, the technology is way too new and schools lack the resources to be able to hire teaching staff to help people learn about these new technologies.

the real reason is that learning the technicals of blockchain is not time sensative enough to have its own full year course of. the only complex part is the cryptography. the rest can be learned in just a few hours. its more of something people would learn at 'nightschool' or other short course term places if done officially.. heck, i see local libraries offer 'coding clubs' to kids who can learn this stuff and just use rewrote cryptography functions to take in one variable and hand out another.. so yea even kids can learn it in a few hours.

take for instance the thousands of altcoins being created, people learned real quick without the support of university tutors

these days programming, data security, and ai are the 'in' thing. but these are more for the computer science and information technology titles. where as computer engineering is more so for those that want to know about hardware and how data interacts with hardware

i dont think there would ever be a major in blockchains. as there isnt a major in relationship databases/microsoft access. and those have been around for decades.. they are just normally a topic taught as part of a larger major

[drumamat]

In any case, the direction chosen is very true.Choose the course that is of interest to you. All individually. But personally, I would advise you to choose a machine learning course.

[Heisenberg_Hunter]

The inputs given by franky1 and The Pharmacist are very much true. If people just think of any blockchain which is present today as a piece of code, then they are completely wrong and giving their inputs with literally no knowledge of what a blockchain really comprises of. Blockchain or Bitcoin in general is more than a piece of code or we can simply consider them that these codes join various aspects of cryptography and distributed systems together. Apart from the economics, bitcoin or commonly blockchain consists of Code, cryptography, distributed systems, processors to mine coins etc and everything can be brought together just by training yourself throughout the days after completing your university subjects.

The university in which I studied had a computer science stream and I was trained with that. But we were taught only a subject on Cryptography and they can be mastered by any non-cse people in a month or two. Cryptography on whole is more or less related to Mathematics and not really related to Cse stream. Anyone can become a coder with 1 month of training on any programming language (provided they atleast know how things work behind the scenes) but mastering cryptography is not really a very easy task. Majority of people lack some really basic math but have a computer science degree in their hand meaning coding is literally simple to master when compared to Cryptography and Mathematics on the whole.

Over the past year I got involved in bitcoin and have learned through cryptography a little. If I were to speak about this with any of my friends, they wouldn't be able to understand what I am really talking about. That being said, end note is that take Software Development as the major subject in your degree and learn through all the aspects of programming language. Once you are good to develop a software, go with Cryptography and read through them until you are good to teach others on the subject. Once both have been done, understand how Distributed Systems work and finally read through the bitcoin code.

[Kyraishi]

Don't think a lot of places have blockchain/cryptocurrency majors, the technology is way too new and schools lack the resources to be able to hire teaching staff to help people learn about these new technologies.

the real reason is that learning the technicals of blockchain is not time sensative enough to have its own full year course of. the only complex part is the cryptography. the rest can be learned in just a few hours. its more of something people would learn at 'nightschool' or other short course term places if done officially.. heck, i see local libraries offer 'coding clubs' to kids who can learn this stuff and just use rewrote cryptography functions to take in one variable and hand out another.. so yea even kids can learn it in a few hours.

That's true. Blockchain technology, and how coins like crypto operate, as well as tokens, are fairly easy to be learnt, and I don't think it'll take more than a month for students to have a very deep understanding of the subjects.

Problem is though, cryptography courses are probably one of the hardest there is, and it'll be tough for people to learn that - and finding tutors that are patient and smart enough to teach those students will be hard.

[Insanerman]

As per the inputs of The Pharmacist, franky1, Heisenberg_Hunter and Kyraishi. Thanks for guiding what major should I take in my current course and what are the subject I needed to study in order to understand blockchain technology. It looks like I will be taking Software Development as my major subject in Computer Engineering and dig deeper about Cryptography and Distributed Systems.

I have been researching on those subjects particularly in Cryptography and I've seen some familiar terms like SHA - 128, ssh, public key and private key which are commonly found in every cryptocurrency wallet. I may not sound very technical but I am excited that I will be going to study these things in my college days!

Another thing that boggles my mind is that, If I were to take software development then I should just take computer science rather than Computer Engineering LOL!!

[ice18]

Another thing that boggles my mind is that, If I were to take software development then I should just take computer science rather than Computer Engineering LOL!!

You are right as Computer science courses are mostly focus on software development, programmings and less on hardware but on Computer Engineering if Im not mistaken they are more focus on robotics with hardware plus some programming if you really interested on blockchains then you should change course now and shift to computer science IMHO. 

[kryptqnick]

As per the inputs of The Pharmacist, franky1, Heisenberg_Hunter and Kyraishi. Thanks for guiding what major should I take in my current course and what are the subject I needed to study in order to understand blockchain technology. It looks like I will be taking Software Development as my major subject in Computer Engineering and dig deeper about Cryptography and Distributed Systems.

I have been researching on those subjects particularly in Cryptography and I've seen some familiar terms like SHA - 128, ssh, public key and private key which are commonly found in every cryptocurrency wallet. I may not sound very technical but I am excited that I will be going to study these things in my college days!

Another thing that boggles my mind is that, If I were to take software development then I should just take computer science rather than Computer Engineering LOL!!

Good luck with studying what you've chosen! It's great that you're only starting your studies and already know and research stuff about Blockchain and cryptocurrencies. If the aim is to study cryptos and Blockchain specifically in the university, I think it largely depends on the university itself, not the subject area. There might be a person from the specific department who happens to be a crypto enthusiast and will tell you a lot about it during the classes. Or there might be no people willing to discuss the topic academically in this institution. I suggest you ask a program coordinator (if you have one) or someone else who knows how Computer Engineering is taught in your specific university to know what to be prepared for. You can also try to look at the list of courses each specialization offers, perhaps it will clarify things for you as well.

[Insanerman]

You are right as Computer science courses are mostly focus on software development, programmings and less on hardware but on Computer Engineering if Im not mistaken they are more focus on robotics with hardware plus some programming if you really interested on blockchains then you should change course now and shift to computer science IMHO. 

Well, my parents do not have any capacity to change my course right now because we only have a limited resources and it will be time consuming. I think I can study computer programming all by myself after finishing my bachelors degree, having a deep understanding how data works in a machine hardware will also serve as an advantage when it comes to the technologies future development.

The internet and this forum can help me a lot to study each and every aspect of blockchain