<p>CS is harder, no doubt. At my school though IE has a lot more requirements and CS is a lot more flexible. CS has far better employment options and job prospects, jobs seem to be just thrown at CS majors. It’s hard to say which will grant you a wider span of applications… All sorts of applications make use of people from both majors. Neither seems to be any more or less “woman friendly” than the other, but at my school there are definitely more women in IE than CS.</p>
<p>For labor statistics, consult the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.</p>
<p>In my experience:</p>
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This depends on the program and the student. Ultimately it’s up to you to decide how much you learn. If you’re smart enough to be putting thought into what you major in, you are smart enough to graduate in anything you want in college. Colleges will not prevent you from learning more than is required. There is enough to learn in either field of study to occupy one’s entire life. There is much more than is unknown to discover than is known, particularly in CS and IE.</p>
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Consult the BLS OOH. Speaking from experience, CS is doing very well right now. A little over a decade ago, CS probably wasn’t doing as hot. The economy goes through cycles, and so do occupations. Study what you love, excel at it, and you’ll be alright.</p>
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Speaking from experience, a CS major can find lucrative employment in nearly every industry in almost every part of the country. I imagine things aren’t much worse for IEs. The BLS OOH can probably speak to this as well.</p>
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Speaking from experience, CS has a real problem with attracting women to the field. This is a double-edged sword: you will be in the minority, but you will enjoy privileges, opportunities and support not typically available to male students. The women I recall from my undergraduate CS years were at least as capable, if not slightly moreso, than their male counterparts.</p>
<p>Mrs. Turbo has degrees in both CS and IE as well as one more in Statistics. She has spent the last 25 years doing manufacturing information systems and factory automation.</p>
<p>Which is easier? I would say (having a similar background with my wife) CS. IE has a lot of totally off the wall courses (the pallet stacking problem :)) and is a lot more mathematics and probability based. Lots more reading and understanding too. CS is more hands on, IE is a bit more ’ a little of this and a little of that’. Knowing how to write software comes in supremely handy as some IE courses require programming of one type or another…</p>
<p>It helps to be assertive as a woman and as an IE you do not see as many women on the factory floor or when you work with the end users of your work (could be machine operators, production schedulers, foremen, etc) but it is very interesting and rewarding. The two majors are vey complementary.</p>
<p>The amount of math in CS is highly dependent on which path you choose to take. If you’re doing pure CS (theory of computations, algorithms, quantum computing, etc.) you’re pretty much doing math. CS was originally the province of math departments, after all. There’s also a ton of stats involved in the data-oriented subfields (machine learning et al.), which are really popular right now. So I would be hesitant to say that CS necessarily has less math than IE (this vaunted pallet stacking problem looks very similar to problems I’ve come across in CS).</p>
<p>That being said, if you so choose, it’s really easy to avoid math after a couple of the intro courses. Systems, applications, mobile, web, etc are all areas where math is unlikely to make a huge appearance.</p>
<p>Maybe I’m being biased, but there’s never been a better time to be a CS major. Companies are throwing themselves at candidates, and salaries can be pretty ridiculous.</p>
<p>Of course, no one knows what the job market will be like in four years. But I feel confident that the fundamentals of the situation won’t change. The world is increasingly dependent on software, and those who have skill will continue to be in high demand across a wide range of industries. You wanted to know about flexibility? Well, almost every company today relies on software to function.</p>
<p>I can’t really speak much on how woman-friendly CS is, since I’m a guy with a biased perspective (there could be things that I’m just oblivious to), but I’ll try anyways. At least in my department, women seem to be really encouraged. They’re often of a high caliber and work hard. The same is true of the company I’m interning at. Are there still problems to be solved? Yes, but problem-solving is what computer scientists do best, and I think a lot of the issues that women face today will be long gone tomorrow (at least I hope so!).</p>
<p>Edit: Internships are really important no matter which field you pursue. Please remember this.</p>
<p>Quick background on me: woman, computer science major, done tech internships, active in women in engineering/women in cse groups</p>
<p>I think sumzup does a great job of summing up (ha) most of your questions. </p>
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<p>Internships are also a great way to network and get to know other university students studying computer science from across the world (connections, connections!). I’ve seen so many interns give their fellow interns referrals to different companies over the past few years.</p>
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<p>My university’s CSE department is extremely nurturing and women friendly. There are seminars catered towards discussion on women in computer science, student organizations, etc. In general, the student body here is fantastic and cultivates a friendly environment for not only women, but other minorities, those with other sexual orientations, etc.</p>
<p>I’ve interned at a major tech company the past two summers. Both summers, I have felt extremely welcome on all levels. Besides participation in an internal organization to support women, I haven’t gotten any indication from coworkers, managers, or VPs that I’m ‘different’ from my fellow male interns. I’ve never felt looked down on or that I need to work long hours and do something spectacular to be accepted as part of the software engineering team. Everyone is expected to take charge of their projects, speak up when necessary, and keep the environment open and nurturing (both on a personal and technical level).</p>
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<p>From my personal experience, I’ve noticed that these negative comments are generally from people who are immature. They were also from people who are homophobic, closed minded, etc. They also sometimes come from people who have no background with the tech scene or engineering departments in universities. Yes, you’ll find some of these people who think that women have no place in a software engineering position… or that women have it “so much easier.” However, you’ll get this minority of people making snarky comments almost everywhere you go, whatever you do. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, our self esteem, confidence, and belief that we can achieve whatever we set out to do can be diminished with these comments. Reading the following, you can probably see how this can spiral into many negative thoughts.</p>
<p>“Did I really land an internship because I simply was a woman? Am I actually qualified to do this? Do the recruiters have to fill their ‘diversity quota’? Do people really view me as mediocre? If I fail at XYZ, of course everyone’s going to expect it… because I was only given this opportunity because I’m a woman.”</p>
<p>Instead of questioning my own skill set or qualifications, I equate those “it’s because you’re a girl!” comments to “make me a sandwich!” type comments. Should I quit doing what I love because of a comment? Just like I wouldn’t make a sandwich for whoever said it, I don’t pay much mind to these comments. Remember that those who make these comments are a minority… and you’ll run into these people wherever you go.</p>
<p>While I can’t judge other universities, I can say that my university does a great job of encouraging women and cultivating a great environment for everyone. We also have great student organizations, such as a chapter of SWE (Society of Women Engineers) and ACM-W (Association for Computing Machinery - Women). The students and overall culture of the university is also very important. If you’re still school shopping, pay special attention to the type of students you meet as opposed to what the school is famous for. These are your future peers and can really make or break your college experience, especially in a specific department/major.</p>
<p>Some tech companies have “Hopper” groups (named after Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, pioneer in computer science) that are open to all employees. They serve as both women support groups as well as just a way for women to get in touch with other women in the company. Some of these groups put on talks at local middle/high schools to encourage girls to look into a potential career in computer science. </p>
<p>A notable figure is Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook), who, although in a business rather than technical position, has done a fantastic job inspiring women, especially young adults, to climb in leadership and technical roles while maintaining a balance with family. She is considered a role model for many women.</p>
<p>This has been a lot longer of a post than I intended to write, but I’ll close with this: </p>
<p>“I think the most important advice for girls or women who want to consider a career in tech is really the same advice for all women and girls anywhere – that the key thing is to believe in your own abilities,” Sandberg wrote. “If women believe they can succeed in tech, they will. And so many amazing technical leaders already do.” (Bosker, Huffington Post, 2012)</p>