<p>Hey guys I am trying to figure out if it would be benficial to major in CS or to major in a more traiditional major such as EE. Would my job prospects be limited as a CS major? (Im going to PSU BTW, and we aren't forced to actually select a major until our second year.) also what about CE? supposedly at PSU the diff between the two at PSU is 75% software, 35% hardware in CS and opposite in CE.</p>
<p>So no CS or EE majors here?</p>
<p>EE all the way</p>
<p>Well, do you want to develop hardware or software? The markets for each will continue to grow, although software engineering is predicted to grow more drastically (estimates around 40+% over the next decade). </p>
<p>Choose whichever you prefer...job prospects won't be limited in either.</p>
<p>Yeah see what ive been hearing is that Ill be able to get CS jobs with a degree in EE whereas the opposite wont hold true for CS. I guess I havent really experienced really the hardware part of Computers (aside from putting them together :P) I have however experienced CS as I goto tech high school for Computer Programming....so I know I atleast dont mind programming :P</p>
<p>Electrical Engineering has to do with computers? I did not know that.</p>
<p>well you have concentrations...</p>
<p>Maybe you should major in EECS. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>you cant at PSU....unless you mean double major?</p>
<p>EE majors, like those in CS, can and are often required to write software. Of course, that's like saying that both engineering and math majors have to take calculus. It's true, but that doesn't mean they're interchangable.</p>
<p>The best software engineers are the ones that have focused on object-oriented design, design patterns, distributed system architecture, advanced algorithms, data structures, etc. While EE majors have to learn similar basic skills, there's logically a tradeoff when it comes to the advanced concepts. EEs do, after all, have to master all the digital logic, VLSI, DSP, etc., too.</p>
<p>Of course, I'm sure there are people who major in EE and can write better software than some CS majors, but they're two separate degrees because they focus on different things.</p>
<p>If you think you like the software side of things, you should lean toward CS. If you prefer the hardware side, go EE. There's some cross-dicipline training, yes, but don't extrapolate that into thinking that EE is a superset of CS.</p>
<p>I don't know how it is at your college, but at Rutgers University it works this way. Electrical Engineering is a major restricted to the School of Engineering only. Computer science is considered Rutgers College so anyone with an affiliation to Rutgers College, Douglass College, Cook College, or Livingston College can major in Computer Science. However, they will not be able to access upper level courses that are given by the School of Engineering.</p>
<p>At Rice, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are two majors within the School of Engineering. There are distinct sets of courses required for each major, but nothing prevents a student from taking additional courses in other disciplines if they so choose. There are standard prerequisites, but professors can waive them for a student if they so choose.</p>
<p>As a CS major, I worked with EE majors in the lower-level courses, and even a few of the upper level ones ("operating systems" and "algorithms and data structures")... but most didn't even <em>try</em> to do the courses on finite automata or languages -- both of which were required for a CS degree. Likewise, I didn't do the VLSI project/lab and similar EE courses. I did have to take digital logic, though.</p>
<p>In short, they're separate degrees with some overlap. Rutgers' approach seems counterintuitive to me -- and really, why "restrict" anything in what should be an open learning environment? -- but that's a philosophical difference and I guess it works for them. I still stand by my statement that neither major is a subset of the other.</p>
<p>how does software engineering fit into this mix? Is it considered CS or a concentration of CE?</p>
<p>I've always considered software engineering analogous to computer science, but there may be some subtle differences I'm not aware of.</p>
<p>bump bump haha you dont die!</p>
<p>If you want to be rewarded for cleverness, do CS. If you want to be rewarded for hard work, do EE. In general, CS job market is better.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I've always considered software engineering analogous to computer science, but there may be some subtle differences I'm not aware of.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>software engineering studies the design element and the management element on how to build a program. I consider it the most "fluffy" branch of computer science.</p>
<p>Wow a thread I made over a year ago! Just so everyone knows i decided on CS ;). Im happy with my choice thus far.</p>
<p>That's good and there are a lot of opportunites for CS moreso than I've been hearing for EE or CompE.</p>