I'm a Politecnico di Torino student currently enrolled - and close to graduate - in Electronics and Communications engineering. As such, I know the basics of analog electronics, digital electronics, signal processing and of course anything that has to do with communications, especially TCP/IP on all levels, even physical. I like the theory of information and signal modulation, and I also like higher levels in TCP/IP, knowing some basic algorithms and protocols; I'm not new to this. Furthermore, I hate analyzing analog circuits, but I love digital electronics and LTI systems theory (including discrete analysis like Z-transform of signals, FFT, etc). Along with this, I have a strong personal background on operating systems and programming (mainly C/C++; but I also have a big experience in higher-level languages). My initial thought was to engage with embedded systems as my MSc, in order to strengthen my knowledge in OSes (since I'm not used to real-time ones) and find a mix between my hobby, programming, and something that has to do with telecommunications, signal analysis, or anyways low-level computer stuff (for example, I love memory management and CPU arch, and I'd love to learn more about them). So, why not, this sounds like a good mix.
However, I've recently discovered that one of our free-choice exams includes, weirdly, an introduction to Quantum Information, Quantum Computing, and Teleportation at the Bachelor's level. I was selected for this and I will start the lectures next semester. I still have no idea how the whole thing works, but the concept of quantum computing seems extremely interesting to me, right now. In case I end up loving this course, I think I'd be wanting to do something about quantum computing in my future Ph.D. program if I ever get to get into one. At this point, I got some choices:
MSc in Computer/Electronic Engineering with Embedded Systems path - I think this would be good especially for getting to know into details how these systems work on a low level, how classical architectures work before heading to a hypothetical quantum computing background
MSc in Physics of Complex Systems - this one is very interesting because it provides a lot of statistical inference, statistical quantum mechanics, and some quantum information theory backgrounds
MSc in Computer Engineering, Cyber Security path - this one could be interesting if I want to operate with the security of quantum systems - I saw that, in telecommunications, there is something called a "quantum key sharing"; I'm not sure what it is, but sounds cool.
- MSc in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering path - interesting, but I'm not sure how good this could be.
- MSc in Data Science and Engineering - could be pretty cool, but I'm not sure how this could help with QC.
Do these courses make sense? In case they do, which one could be the best? I'm very interested in computer architecture and in telecommunications, and also in reverse engineering memory management, and data structures. One thing I absolutely love is working with bits, especially when it's about manipulating memory or also bitmasks, and I also am amazed and very interested in probability when it's applied to signals (power spectral densities and that stuff), and in general statistical inference. I hate purely analog circuits analysis because, to me, they have lots of inconsistencies and I'm not good at re-modeling circuits from different points of view, let alone all the awful approximations that are often taken for granted in these courses. I also love physics, especially electromagnetism, and stochastic processes-based physical theories, so Physics of Complex Systems could be interesting.
What do you think? Do any of these make sense? I could also switch university, but quantum computing courses at MSc level are extremely rare and they're usually found in mostly Physics and Technology courses, and furthermore, it would be a great problem with funding, but I suppose I could make some more sacrifices.
I am really sorry for my long post and I hope this is the right subsite, and I hope this wasn't already asked (couldn't really think anything about it, especially with these courses). For any suggestions, thank you in advance! I would really appreciate any tips. Have a good day!
