Working in Information Technology

Business Sectors

Source: Target IT 2006, GTI Publishing

Author: David Garfield, Senior Manager,  Detica Ltd.

The hardware sector covers a broad spectrum of products and activities ranging from the development  of advanced silicon to the test and build of large networking solutions. At first sight there are many IT organisations that have hardware development divisions, however be aware that not all have development sites within the UK. There are many smaller companies in the UK that focus on specialist elements of hardware development that also provide exciting opportunities for engineers. Opportunities for would-be developers exist across the market. Key sectors include telecoms, defence, automotive and aerospace. Advances in mobile telephony, electronics in family cars and in-flight entertainment systems illustrate how rapidly technology is developing.

New developments

There are exciting developments in both digital and analogue electronics. With the vast quantities of data and information that need to be constantly accessed or processed around the world, hardware developers are working flat out to increase device speed. However, working at higher processing speeds ( 40 thousand million bits per second and above ) presents enormous design challenges. At the same time there are conflicting demands from the rapid up-take in mobile and wireless technologies, which need to be lightweight and have long battery lives - difficult to achieve as faster processors demand more power and produce more heat.

There is also a merging of the traditional hardware/software divide as FPGA technology (basically 'empty' silicon chips that can be programmed with firmware) becomes available.

These devices allow software programmers to directly develop 'custom' hardware, and conversely allow hardware engineers to implement routines on a processor that would usually be done in software.

Skills required

Good numerate degrees within a subject area that gives some experience of electronics are the typical requirement - physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists can be considered alongside electronic engineers for many areas of work. Specific degrees sought depend on the organisation you apply to and the area of development in which they specialise - a postgraduate qualification may give you and advantage in some areas of research and development. Good communication skills and team working ability are essential.

Starting out

Some organisations have graduate schemes, but others will not and you may have to develop your skills through hands-on experience.

Typically graduates start out helping on a project with a small area of responsibility. As you gain experience, you'll take on more responsibility and will begin to manage self-contained tasks within a project. This leads on to more formal technical project management.

• You will feel proud when you've implemented a complex hardware solution that operates many times faster than using a commercial processing platform.
• The work is very varied as hardware development can involve electronic design (schematics) and programming (firmware/software), testing, working out cooling solutions (mechanical design) and design ergonomics.

Worst

• The despair of finding a bug - locating the problem and resolving it can take a lot of time.
• Having to compromise - the best engineering solution may not be possible under realistic timescales and budgets.

Don't bother if...

...you don't want to be versatile and multi-skilled. Patience is also important since hardware solutions can take longer to produce than software solutions.

Computer Studies,

Software Engineering

The school hosts a yearly research conference - the PGNet symposium, dealing with the convergence of telecommunications, networking and broadcasting.  The schools' Networked Appliance Lab gives researchers the chance to research and develop the systems required to support, among other things, the personal ubiquitous networked devices of the future.

The content in many of our degrees also cover recent development in wireless and mobile computer technologies. The Mathematics, Statistics and Computing Degree introduces the student to mathematical modelling methods and engineering mathematics.

We have also developed PostGraduate courses in Mobile Computing and Digital Entertainment Systems.