Student Interview: Andrew Jaseckas

1. The person I am interviewing is Andrew Jaseckas. He is a senior at Purdue in the

major of Computer Engineering. His email is ajasecka@purdue.edu.

2. Andrew chose this major because, when he was in high school, he took a

Computer Science course and he loved it. With the drive of wanting to

fabricating certain ideas he had into building things, he decided he wanted to

combine his love for both computer science and engineering. With computer

engineering being such a combination of both his passions, he decided to go

into computer engineering as his major. In narrowing his choice of major, he

really didn’t like any other major besides Computer Science or Computer

Engineering. He chose computer engineering in the end because it spread

beyond just programming in its curriculum compared to a Bachelor of Computer

Science degree.

3. Typical major classes starting in sophomore year has a more do it yourself feel.

The instructor will give you the lectures and the material necessary for the topic

and then they will give you a crazy problem to solve. These problems will

encompass everything in class all the way down to the tiny details which means

it is very important to understand everything the instructor says in class. Labs

have a similar format to lectures and require you to go on the web and learn

about certain vague topics discussed in class by yourself. Some of the content

you will learn in Computer Engineering includes applying programming

 languages and understanding the theory behind power and current. A usual

lecture layout is the instructor will give the required material for the topic and

occasionally give a quiz. Lectures usually have around 100 to 200 students

making it a very competitive major. Overall, computer engineering requires a lot

of self-initiative in getting the material, understanding and applying the material

on your own, and incorporating it in your labs and homework.

4. Andrew’s favorite class has been ECE 362: Microprocessors and Micro-

controllers. In this class, you get to work with Arduino and program it to do

many different types of things from turning on microphones to creating motion

detection systems. In the end of the course you get the opportunity to build a

design project and Andrew’s team got to build a pedestrian jaywalking detection

system. The general idea behind this project was if you were sensed walking on

the street, a light would go off to show that the person had walked from one

area to another. This was Andrew’s favorite class because he found it cool

seeing how all the material he learnt in the classroom actually applied to real life

situations that many people tackle on a day to day basis.

5. The classes that have been the toughest for Andrew were ECE 202 and ECE

337. In ECE 202, you have to be able to manipulate and work with the material

learned in ECE 201: Linear Circuit Analysis I. In ECE 202, you get to work with

many types of things including filters and learning how inductors interact with

each other. This was a tough class for Andrew as he didn’t understand the

material well enough in ECE 201 to be able to translate the material to its
 applications in ECE 202. In ECE 337, an ASIC Design Lab, Andrew struggled

mainly because he found it hard to translate the minimal knowledge gained in

the lectures he attended to program, using VHDL hardware programming

language, a certain processor in very large scale integration projects offered

within the lab. With the very fine details Andrew learnt in class, he was expected

to do such a large task in ECE 337 making it tough for him.

6. The skills and abilities that students will need in pursuing computer engineering

includes working hard, figuring out what you don’t know, and staying on top of

everything given in class. You will need to have a passion for programming and

the drive to continuously work for a solution that has no general mathematic

approach.

7. Andrew is planning on getting a job in Illinois. Right now, he is looking at

potential careers as a software engineer, electrical engineer, or web developer

which is typical for all computer engineering majors. Andrew might be leaning

towards graduate school but, usually for computer engineering majors, you can

get a decent job after college in areas ranging from web design to electronics

production.

8. The extra-curricular opportunities that Andrew has been involved in that

specifically relate to computer engineering is the ECE Ambassadors. Within this

group, Andrew gives tours to prospective freshman interested in going to the

 College of Electrical and Computer Engineering and helps these prospective

freshman make a decision on whether this major would be the best fit for them.

Andrew is also part of Alpha Sigma Phi which organizes sport events and other

sponsorships that does not specifically involve computer engineering.

9. Q: In the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering, what type of major

would you recommend to a freshman: Electrical Engineering or Computer

Engineering?

A: Andrew would recommend computer engineering to those who love to

program and have a passion for it. The main difference between electrical

engineering and computer engineering, in the opinion of Andrew, is that

electrical engineering only focuses on the hardware of electronics while

computer engineering focuses on both hardware and software. Computer

Engineering would be the better bet since it not only has a fixed curriculum

unlike electrical engineering, but also allows you to understand electronics in a

much deeper manner. As a result, you gain more experience and prowess in the

field compared to most electrical engineers.