<p>I know a similar question has been asked before but I have a few questions that are more specific to my career goals.I am debating whether to take CS or CE at UMD and ultimately want to end up with a network security-related job</p>
<p>Here is a little about myself to help give you an idea of who I am and what I want to do.
- I've been accepted to the Honors College and will most likely be in the Gemstone living-learning program, so I already have additional workload on my hands.
- I have a couple certifications (A+ and CCENT) and am planning on testing for my full CCNA and Security+ certs this summer.
-I've taken Cisco's advanced networking courses at my high school (which prepared me for those networking certs.) and am also interested in this aspect of computers
-I am not so interested in the programming aspect, although I know it would be an imperative no matter which major I choose (I'm taking a 200 level C++ course at my community college right now)
-I'm not good at physics but I would do my best to learn if I end up choosing CE
-I am HIGHLY interested in the network security field (i.e. pen testing, security auditing, etc)</p>
<p>I am afraid that if I go into CE, I will stray too far away from the network security aspects that I like so much and be geared too much to the hardware aspects of computers. Is my assumption correct? Which major do you think would be right for me? Any other suggestions/comments?</p>
<p>Security pretty much has to do more with CS than CE… software is what keeps networks secured. However in CS you do have to learn programming… I say if you’re willing to learn programming more than physics (which you said you weren’t good at), I would think CS is a better degree for your to pursue.</p>
<p>What you’re looking for is an IT kind of degree. I don’t think any four year undergraduate degree is a good match for you or requisite to work in the field. So just make your decision on what courses you would have to take and whether you find them interesting.</p>
<p>I would say CS is much closer than CE.
CE is about digital design, microprocessors, hardware, and has nothing to do with security. Even CS has little to do with security but electives will include databases, networks, cryptography. There is a little overlap maybe.</p>
<p>Most cryptography and network security work done in the US takes place in CS departments.</p>
<p>That being said, depending on your interests, you could be a fit for anything from EE to Math. The only questions you have to answer are questions like “Do I prefer hardware or software” and “Do I want to make things or understand things”? and you probably already have a good idea as to what you want to do.</p>
<p>Addressing the original question, I think more work is done on the CS/Math side than on the CE/EE side. Wild guess there.</p>
<p>thanks for the advice. I spoke to someone who is experienced in the Security field and he suggested that I should do CS. He also said that you have to choose between getting certifications and getting a college degree… which I disagree with; I am going to self-study certs. as much as possible while in college to boost my Resume by the time I get out.</p>
<p>If you’re not interested in the programming aspect of computing security, getting some kind of engineering degree and supplementing it with certs is probably OK. But, if you are interested in the more theoretical aspects of security, such as establishing [Common</a> Criteria](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_criteria]Common”>Common Criteria - Wikipedia), you might consider getting a CS degree with an emphasis on CS theory. People who do this sort of thing do formal security audits and other related work. There can be programming involved, at least to the extent of understanding what the programs you are analyzing do.</p>
<p>Definitely go to college… the only reason a company might hire you is if you were like 16 and had a certification for professional software engineer in Java or some other big language, and even then it’s like… this kid doesn’t have a college degree. College is more than just about reading and learning about stuff, that’s the way employers look at it I’d say.</p>
<p>^ I think the OP established that he is going to UMD, but he is not sure which major is better or how to specialize in Network Security. I would suggest reading as much as possible online forums - network security is a dynamic field and the protocols/encryption of today may be obsolete tomorrow.</p>