<p>Given that I am interested in both fields, which degree would give me the most job options after graduation (the degree is ECE, electrical and computer engineering)? For example, do employers consider applicants with an EE/CE (or in my case, ECE) degree when hiring software developers, or do they tend to look more for CS majors? Would getting the ECE degree limit my potential to work in software if I so choose?</p>
<p>The way I see it is that, with an ECE degree, I could potentially choose to work in hardware or software after graduation, whereas with a CS degree I'm more restricted, as in I must work software. Is my intuition correct? Does anyone have any insight as to what would provide the broadest opportunities for employment in a related field, i.e. electronics engineer, electrical engineer, software engineer (I don't want to be teaching math at a community college, for instance...)?</p>
<p>What is employment for EE graduates like? I have checked the BLS says 6% job growth from 2010-2020 but I'm not sure whether to bite, given that the BLS also predicted growth in computer programming jobs over a decade ago, and instead of growth there has been a decline (from around 400k to around 300k as of 2011)...</p>
<p>it’s not the degree, it’s the electives you take that you can tailor your degree to your interests. CS has more job openings, but EE stuff is less likely to be offshored. My advice is look up jobs that you think you are interested in and see what the qualifications are for education. I live in SoCal and a lot of tech jobs for software and hardware list EE, CE, or CS as a requirement for the same posting. </p>
<p>Just depends on what you want to do. You won’t have to worry about getting a job after you are done.</p>
<p>In principle, yes. But you will be LESS qualified for software positions than CS majors (in general). Therefore, your job prospects are still strongest as a CS guy.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that there are many more software jobs than hardware, and in fact the pay is better.</p>
<p>“CS has more job openings, but EE stuff is less likely to be offshored.”</p>
<p>I’m going to disagree about the EE stuff being less likely to be offshored. When I first came to Silicon Valley in the 80s, there were lots of pure EE and computer engineering jobs. Now there are relatively few, as most hardware is designed and manufactured overseas. The EE and CE grads I know end up being involved in software development, but they do need to have taken some programming classes in college.</p>