Comp.Eng. or switch to C.S. w/ minor?

College Majors Engineering Majors
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<p>Okay so I posted a thread about this and somehow it disappeared or never got posted...I'll try to make it short now.</p>

<p>I'm debating whether switching from Computer Engineering to Computer Science because I don't know if I will like the hardware classes of the CE degree. I know I want to work with software in the future and I know for sure that I enjoy it. However, I have not had any real hardware classes except for Hardware Interface. We've learned stuff like data paths, pipelining, parallel processing, ALUs, etc. I don't really find interest in this kind of stuff and don't know if that's how future courses will be...Circuits, Processors, Design, Signals, etc. </p>

<p>I only picked this major because I thought it's more marketable and it's what recruiters want to see, but I'm not sure. Is it pointless to take these classes if I am going to work with software in the future?</p>

<p>Lastly, if I do end up switching to CS, I have to declare a minor. My adviser said the most popular ones here are Information Systems and Operations Management, Mathematics, Information Technology (I think that's what it is called), and Sales Engineering. I really like Calculus and Diff. Eq. but have heard that upper level math is very different than these classes. Honestly, I only like computer science and math, but I am open to business because that's something I may want to get involved with in the future. So, what would be the best minor to declare?</p>

<p>Any opinions on what path I should take?</p>

<p>Sorry for the long read.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>EDIT: I forgot to mention that my school is ABET accredited in Computer Engineering but not Computer Science..or at least it doesn't say that it is. Will this affect me negatively I switch to CS?</p>

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<p>Forget about what your adviser said. I don’t know why your school requires a minor… that’s really odd. CS is already difficult… why on earth would they make you to declare another minor? Stupid school. Seriously.</p>

<p>Information Systems and Operations Management. Really? If you are going to study CS, you are going to learn about database, and how to use Linux on your own… I don’t know what cool things they teach you in IS and OM, but if they referring to provisioning infrastructure, I doubt you can learn that from your teacher.</p>

<p>If I’d pick one, maybe a math minor or sales engineering.
I don’t know much about upper-level math, but if you like math you have to sweat through it.</p>

<p>As far as switching to CS, don’t think about market. Think about what you like the most, which path do you feel more comfortable with? I am not the kind of guy who will read the schematic diagram every day. No. So I switched back to CS. </p>

<p>I like distributed system. That has stuff to with servers and OS, but doesn’t require me to actually design the electronics. I like it. I stick to it.</p>

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<p>Lack of ABET accreditation does not necessarily mean that the CS degree program is poor, although it can range anywhere from top notch to very poor (those with ABET accreditation can range from top notch to reasonably good). In most cases, employers are not looking for that, except for niche areas like patent law.</p>

<p>A few universities require minors. Example:</p>

<p>Carnegie Mellon: minor required for CS majors.
University of Florida: minor required for some majors, including CS in the engineering division, but not CS in the liberal arts and sciences division.</p>

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<p>To put things in perspective, Stanford Computer Science is not ABET accredited. What ucbalumnus said is correct, lack of ABET accreditation does not necessarily mean a CS program is poor.</p>

<p>Why don’t you finish that hardware course you’re taking right now and also maybe try out another hardware course. After finishing those two classes, you can decide if you want to switch. And presumably there is a lot of overlap between CE and CS at your school, so you shouldn’t fall behind. If you really dislike hardware after that first class, then feel free to switch immediately.</p>

<p>As for whether the hardware classes are going to be useless depends on what kind of software job you will get in the future. For some software jobs, knowing about the details of computer hardware / processing is important (i.e. if you are working on an operating system). For other jobs, knowing those details (beyond the basics) is not useful at all (i.e. you make iPhone apps or something).</p>

<p>In the industry, CS majors are at no disadvantage (and probably even have a distinct advantage, given their specialization) for software jobs.</p>

<p>As for your choice of minor, you should pick the minor which has classes you are most interested in. Your choice of minor is not going to significantly impact your employability, compared to your major and your work experience (internships). Don’t pick a minor just because it is popular. Pick a minor you find interesting and intellectually stimulating. Since you expressed an interest in business, that would be a perfectly fine subject to minor in (operations management or sales engineering seem to fit - carefully examine the curriculum of those minors).</p>

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<p>Wow this website hates me…I replied but somehow got an error and everything got deleted. </p>

<p>To sum it all up AGAIN:…</p>

<p>I am taking Digital Logic next semester which is required for both degrees so I guess that will be the deciding factor on whether to switch. Does Digital Logic give good insight on what a hardware class is like? The other classes I’d have to take are Digital Design, Micro P, Signals, and Circuits. </p>

<p>Also, ucbalumnus, I do go to UF. CS through the College of Engineering is required to have a minor OR (I forgot about this) take 15 credits of CS technical electives. I already need to take 15 credits of tech electives for my degree so going this route would result in 30 credits of electives. How would this look?</p>

<p>@jwxie,
I looked at the required courses for Information Systems and it had courses like Business Systems, Database Management, Business Data Communications, and a few others. What do you think?</p>

<p>So I researched the minors and basically found 4 that interest me:</p>

<p>Mathematics - I’d only have to take 3 4000 level classes but most of these are abstract and theory based it seems which I’m really not interested in…I like computational math better. I’d also have to take either 6 credits more of 4000 level math classes or upper-division CS classes to satisfy the 15 credits. I’ve seen a lot of people say this is a great minor to have with CS, but I don’t think I’d enjoy it much and it is probably the most difficult of these minors.</p>

<p>Sales Engineering - Was really interested in this at first but looked at some of the courses and their syllabi - a lot of it is based on group projects through web courses which can be a hassle and semester long projects which seem really tedious. Some of the options for the courses seem absurd also…for example: Civil Engineering Cost Analysis, Agricultural and Food Marketing. There are other options but still, I found that weird.</p>

<p>Business Administration - typical business minor I guess. This is probably the easiest one of the 4, but I don’t know if it’s useless? Ideally, I’d want to get an MBA but I’ve never been the leader type; I rather just work together with others to get something done or whatever. I’d really like to be some sort of senior engineer or manager later in my career. </p>

<p>Information Systems - This one is really growing on me. My adviser said these classes are based on computing but with a business spin to them. One interesting thing is that the courses are 8 weeks long only which means I’d be able to knock out 2 classes (first half semester and second half of the semester) each semester. I looked at the syllabi for Business Systems I and II, and the classes revolve around coding problems in Java and C#, respectively. Apparently you watch the lectures at home and you work on coding problems every day in class. This seems pretty cool to me and I don’t know C# so learning that would be a plus. But, like jwxie said…is this just a waste also since I’m already a CS major? </p>

<p>What do you guys think?</p>

<p>Thanks for your advice!</p>

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<p>Any help? Really need to make my decision soon.</p>