Computer Hardware
Computer hardware, as we use the term, means central processing units
(CPUs), including memory and storage—in other words, the machine on which
you run an operating system and application software and to which you
attach peripherals (keyboards, mice, printers, etc.). Also included in our
definition are the servers, electronic security, and storage devices used
in the data centers of many corporations.
Computer hardware and software are useless without each other. But working
together they store, modify, and exchange data: words, pictures, and
numbers—everything from correspondence to news photos, from drawings of jet
aircraft to shipping manifests, from news releases to financial reports,
from census statistics to stock quotes, from maps to email.
The competition among computer hardware companies is particularly intense.
On the one hand, in the traditional PC market, companies' products have
largely become commodified, with constant downward price pressure (and
narrowing profit margins) being the result. On the other hand, there are
markets for innovative new products, like tablet PCs and ultra-minimal
desktops, that are not yet fully commodified. Here, the race is on to
develop products at breakneck speed so you can be first to market. And if a
company falters, it instantly becomes a target for larger companies looking
to acquire new businesses. No doubt about it: Computer hardware is a
cutthroat business.
There are definite geographic concentrations in the hardware industry
despite its worldwide reach. It's often noted that high-tech companies
are usually located near colleges and universities, and there's a good
deal of truth to that, as many companies come out of research done at such
institutions. Silicon Valley is near San Jose State, the University of
California at Berkeley, and Stanford University. Route 128 is near the
educational mecca of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Research Triangle in North
Carolina and the area around Austin, Texas, are also good examples. Still,
there are other places within North America where you'll find major
hardware companies; for example, Gateway is in North Dakota.
Most major corporations in computer hardware reach across national borders.
International sales normally account for a large percentage of most
hardware companies' bottom lines, and India, Japan, China, and other
Asian locations are hotbeds of hardware manufacture and design.
Smaller and Smaller
As advancing technology makes it cost-effective to make more complex chips
in increasingly compact sizes, computer hardware makers can bring smaller
and smaller devices to market. Think flat computer display screens. Think
ever-thinner, ever-lighter laptop computers. And so on.
New Gaming Platforms
The big three in gaming hardware—Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo—all either
have recently launched their latest-generation gaming consoles or are
planning their imminent release. This situation comes around every five
years or so. The new consoles feature high-def graphics, speedy
performance, and enhanced audio. Microsoft's Xbox 360, which was
launched late in 2005, is at press time the most advanced console on the
market. Sony's PS3 console, due out later in 2006 or early in 2007, is
projected to be technically more advanced than the Xbox 360, but will cost
significantly more. Nintendo's Wii console, also due out later in 2006,
is so far taking a back seat to the Sony and Microsoft console offerings in
terms of marketplace buzz.
Convergence
Is it a DVD player? A stereo system? A photo scrapbook? A film editing
station? A telephone? No, it's today's PC or laptop. These days,
personal computers are able to do more and more different things. This
means plenty of work for computer hardware professionals, as they make and
market hardware products with new and varied capabilities. On the other
hand, it also means new sources of competition—such as telecom companies
making newfangled cell phones that allow users to watch videos and surf the
Internet, and consumer electronics companies making personal entertainment
systems and the likes.
Outsourcing
In the hardware world as elsewhere in business, an increasing number of
manufacturers are outsourcing product and component development and
manufacturing overseas. Some companies are only doing top-level design in
the United States, leaving production and more basic design tasks to
cheaper labor in the Philippines, China, and elsewhere. What this means is
that product managers and project heads may have to travel a lot more than
in previous generations; it also means that many North America-based jobs
are being lost. Increasingly, the task of American PC companies is to be
expert in marketing and distribution while simply outsourcing manufacturing
and portions of the design work. Still, observers point out that there
should continue to be plenty of jobs in this sector in the U.S. for techies
with top-notch skills.
Consolidation
Related to outsourcing and commodification, consolidation of the industry
makes sense as computers become familiar products that require fewer very
different design and manufacturing approaches. Let a few giant companies
manufacture more units at lower cost while sharing marketing and
distribution costs across a larger organization. Hewlett-Packard came home
with Compaq for billions, and rumor has it that Gateway is a prime takeover
target.
Linux
This cheap, open-source operating system software (read: Linux code is
available for free on the Web) is moving into the mainstream. Pushed by the
desire to lower costs, companies of many stripes have taken a new interest
in Linux instead of more expensive operating systems such as Windows or
Unix. At the same time, Intel has begun optimizing its chips for Linux in
addition to Windows. The result: Hardware manufacturers such as IBM, Dell,
and Hewlett-Packard have begun optimizing their PC and server products for
Linux.
For job seekers, one way to segment the industry is by the type of computer
hardware the company makes. Other differentiating factors include industry
and application focus and sales-and-distribution methodology: mail order,
Internet, or retail.
PCs (Desktop and Laptop)
The PC market is perhaps the most visible segment of the high-tech hardware
market, with computers becoming more and more common at work, home, labs,
and school. Established players here include Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and
Apple, which make desktop and portable computers, many of which are
powerful enough to replace high-end specialized workstations and to use for
3-D rendering, molecular modeling, computer-aided design (CAD), and video
editing. Portable computers represent a growing overall share of the
personal computer market.
Peripherals
A peripheral is usually understood to be an external product added to a
computer, such as a new mouse, speakers, or memory stick (think
manufacturers like Kensington, Logitech, and KeyTronic), all the way up to
monitors, scanners, and printers. However, a peripheral can also be
something added into a computer, such as a 3-D video card or an internal
modem.
Servers
There are many types of servers—those big boxes that, among other things,
are the glue that holds the Internet together. In addition to Web servers,
which pass back and forth all of the HTML and image files that end up on
your screen, there are local area network (LAN) servers, wide area network
(WAN) servers, file servers, mail servers, database servers, and more.
Every time two computers (termed "clients" in this context)
connect over a network, a server is involved.
Opportunities in the computer hardware industry exist not only for
engineers, computer scientists, and others with technical skills, but also
for people with financial, marketing, sales, and product management
backgrounds. Job seekers with technical expertise and a computer science
degree attract the most opportunities and the sweetest compensation
packages, whether they work as engineers, product managers, or in
marketing. Opportunities in fields such as sales, customer support, and
technical writing go to individuals with good people skills, a strong
customer-service bias, and the ability to communicate complex ideas in
plain English, respectively. If any of these sounds like you, give computer
hardware a close look—but be prepared to get up to speed on the technical
side.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the growth in the United
States in jobs in this sector will drop between 2004 and 2014,
compared to an increase in jobs overall of about 14 percent. You can thank
the increasing automation of manufacturing processes, as well as the trend
toward moving computer hardware-production jobs overseas, for the bleak
outlook. Still, this is a big, growing industry, and there will always be
business and techie jobs available in this sector for people at the top of
their game.
Back to top
A Worldwide Market
With technology reaching most of the way across the world, products are
sold and talent is recruited from around the globe. As a result, a job in
the software or hardware industry could include travel, either for months
or for a day. And even if you don't go, you'll probably meet people
who do and might invite you, if you're nice, for a visit.
Diversity
The culture of the hardware industry tends to be more socially liberal than
those of more traditional industries. That plus the above-mentioned
worldwide market adds up to a workforce that is not only a good mix of male
and female but is also composed of a wide variety of nationalities and
colors.
Flex, Not Face, Time
The important thing is that the job gets done and done on time. When it
gets worked on is not always management's top concern, so most
high-tech companies offer options such as flex time, telecommuting, and the
like.
Lost in the Shuffle
For many people, this will be their first serious job out of college or
graduate school, and the switch from being a student to being
just another worker in a corporation of hundreds of thousands may come as a
shock. It's true that there may be more opportunities for both
advancement and important work at a larger company, but along with that
often comes the loss of a sense of place or perspective.
Taking Out a Contract
One way corporations are cutting their expenses is to move what used to be
in-house jobs to contract positions—this means, on the one hand, that it
might be easier to get into a desirable company as a contractor, but these
positions often lack benefits and any sense of security. Also, the general
trend means that companies are looking to get rid of people rather than
hire.
Learning to Love CPU Cycles
Although we're going through an exciting time in terms of the way we
use computers, the computer hardware industry is (and has always been) a
highly quantitative field primarily concerned with an endless array of
specifications. If you aren't fascinated with how these machines work,
the work can seem rather dry—not just for technical staff, but also for
marketing professionals, whose work partly involves translating specs and
other technical data into more accessible language.
Back to top
Top 20 Computer Hardware Companies, by 2005 Revenue
|
|
Rank
|
Company
|
Revenue ($M)
|
1-Year Change (%)
|
Employees
|
|
1
|
IBM Corp.
|
91,134
|
–5.4
|
319,926
|
|
2
|
Hewlett-Packard Co.
|
86,696
|
8.5
|
150,000
|
|
3
|
Hitachi, Ltd.
|
84,365
|
3.6
|
323,072
|
|
4
|
Sony Corp.
|
66,912
|
–7.2
|
151,400
|
|
5
|
Toshiba Corp.
|
54,264
|
2.7
|
165,000
|
|
6
|
Dell Inc.
|
49,205
|
18.7
|
55,200
|
|
7
|
NEC Corp.
|
45,298
|
–3.7
|
147,800
|
|
8
|
Fujitsu Ltd.
|
44,284
|
–1.9
|
150,970
|
|
9
|
Canon Inc.
|
31,836
|
–4.5
|
109,434
|
|
10
|
Cisco Systems, Inc.
|
24,801
|
12.5
|
38,413
|
|
11
|
Ricoh Co., Ltd.
|
16,868
|
0.1
|
75,097
|
|
12
|
Xerox Corp.
|
14,826
|
0.3
|
58,100
|
|
13
|
Apple Computer Inc.
|
13,931
|
68.3
|
16,820
|
|
14
|
Seiko Epson Corp.
|
13,759
|
2.8
|
85,647
|
|
15
|
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
|
11,071
|
–1.0
|
31,000
|
|
16
|
EMC Corp.
|
9,664
|
17.4
|
26,500
|
|
17
|
Seagate Technology
|
7,553
|
21.4
|
43,000
|
|
18
|
Acer, Inc.
|
7,036*
|
52.2*
|
6,560*
|
|
19
|
NCR Corp.
|
6,028
|
0.7
|
28,200
|
|
20
|
Western Digital Corp.
|
3,638
|
19.4
|
23,161
|
*2004 numbers.
Sources: Hoover's; WetFeet analysis.
|
Back to top
Junior Engineer
This entry-level position is the foot soldier of engineering. You're
not so much coming up with ideas as implementing solutions developed by
your superiors. Still, this is an important first rung to a more
specialized, higher-paying engineering position. This job category can also
include software programming, which involves writing the code built into
the hardware system. Salary range: $40,000 to $55,000.
Engineer
The middle ground between junior engineer and system architect, this
position encompasses about 95 percent of the engineering workforce. Salary
range: $55,000 to $85,000.
Systems Engineer
This position typically is filled by an engineer who combines technical
expertise and strong people skills. A systems engineer, who must know the
technology inside out, assists the sales staff in managing the relationship
with the potential buyer. An SE is sometimes paired with an individual
salesperson, sometimes with a team of salespeople. Salary range: $75,000 to
$105,000.
Technical Support
The technical support staff fields the never-ending barrage of questions
from businesses or consumers who recently purchased a product. With
computer companies trying to use top-flight customer service to set
themselves apart from the pack, tech-support positions are becoming
increasingly important. A technical background helps in this position but
is not a prerequisite for employment. Patience, and the ability to soothe
the confused and frustrated, matter far more. Salary range: $25,000 to
$65,000.
Technical Writer
This is an excellent way for those of you with non-tech backgrounds to
break into the computer industry. A technical writer is responsible for
translating technical concepts into readable prose for user manuals and
other types of documentation. Salary range: $35,000 to $85,000.
Marketing Communications Associate
This position is suitable for those with strong writing, communication,
and people skills. You'll help with events, public relations tasks, and
press conferences and coordinate the publicity materials in various media
including online and print. After gaining a few years' experience, you
might move on to a sales or marketing associate position. Salary range:
$30,000 to $65,000.
Product Manager
As a product manager, you're a key player in coming up with product
ideas and working with engineers to make them a reality. This position
requires some grasp of technical matters, the ability to build consensus
and teamwork, and a knack for spotting-and anticipating-market trends. Most
of these jobs require an MBA or comparable experience. Salary range:
$80,000 to $130,000.
Financial Analyst
Financial analysis in computer hardware companies can take many forms:
numerical analysis for production planning, industrial operations
management, or general finance and accounting. In some cases, an analyst
evaluates other companies as potential merger or acquisition targets.
Depending on how the analyst position is defined, an MBA may be necessary.
Salary range: $35,000 to $90,000.
Sales
The demands of this job vary widely depending on whether you sell PCs,
large servers, or mainframes, and on which markets you're selling to.
In some instances, significant travel is required; in others, comparatively
little. You'll always have to learn, quickly and completely, your
product's technical specifications, but training and support are
usually provided. Salary range: $25,000 to $80,000 or more, depending on
commissions.
Your job search in the computer hardware industry will vary widely
depending on the type of technical expertise you have. There are basically
two types of job seekers in high tech-technical people and everybody else
(or, depending on whom you ask, marketing people and everybody else).
-
If you want to be a marketer, you'll have to present yourself as a
quick thinker, a good communicator, and someone who has a true affinity
for or interest in the technology world. An ability to translate
technospeak into English may also be a real plus, depending on the
position.
-
For technical people, employers want to see tangible related experience
(or, for recent grads, a degree or relevant coursework in computer
science or electrical engineering), strong analytical skills, and some
affinity for the rigid structure of most computer companies.
-
Whatever avenue you take into the world of computer hardware, you'll
do well to come across as someone who is excited and energized by change.
Employers also look for self-starters with the ability to handle multiple
tasks simultaneously. Despite the rigidity of computer hardware
companies' management structures, you're not going to get a lot
of handholding on the job. You'll need to impress upon your potential
employer that you can take a project and run with it.