Wondering what a job in cryptographic engineering would look like.

Hi all,

I’m currently a freshman in computer engineering with a minor in math. Really enjoyed my linear algebra class this past semester, which made me look towards abstract algebra classes in the future. After some more digging, I found that cryptography was a common application of these concepts and became pretty interested in.

I was wondering what the career path to working in cryptography would look like. Currently, my major is concentrated in hardware design, so if anyone has some insight into the hardware side of cryptography, that would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!