Computer vs. Electrical Engineering

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

Hello everyone! I know there are a ton of threads out there about this question and I’ve probably read them all, or at least most of them. I’m still very torn between the two majors, so I was hoping to give some specific background about my situation and maybe someone can help out!

I am a junior in high school taking all of my classes at the University of Akron. It’s basically a dual-enrollment program with a different name. I’m in calc 3 and am in two basic engineering classes which are tools for electrical engineering (the most basic engineering course which I don’t like too much because it’s not math based at all) and digital logic design, which I absolutely love. I took two programming courses the past two semesters that taught me how to use C++ and HATED them. I was going to major in computer science until I started programming. I don’t mind programming in VHDL or PBASIC though, which are what I’ve used for engineering so far.

Because I’m in dual enrollment, we have to schedule really early and so I was told to start looking at what I wanted to take now. Usually, students in computer/electrical engineering don’t actually have to choose a specific major until their third year, but because of the weird order I’ve taken my classes, I will start taking major-specific courses next year. I am still quite lost at which one I want to pick because I haven’t had too much background in either one, although from what I have taken I love it.

Here are the differences in courses that each one will have to take that the other doesn’t. I can take a few ones for electives, but because of the way my school has them set up, I couldn’t dual major just through electives. Based on the following classes, which major would better prepare me for the work force? Which classes out of these are actually important (or the most important) in the first place?

Electrical engineering:

  • Statics
  • Electromagnetics I, II
  • Energy Conversion
  • Mechanics of Solids or Dynamics
  • Thermal Science or Materials Science
  • Intro to Communication Systems
  • Electronic Design
  • Controls I
    (then electives)

Computer engineering:

  • Computer Systems
  • Operating Systems Concepts (which I will probably take even as an EE for personal interest)
  • Embedded Systems Interfacing
  • VLSI Design
  • Computer System Design
  • Computer Networks
  • Digital Signal Processing
    (then electives)

Any and all input is welcome! Sorry for the length of this too by the way!

2

^^bump^^ I really need help on this. If this is too much to respond to just give me anything you have please! I really need help!

3

Um, both. It just depends which work force! CE prepares you for a relatively narrow field right from the start, while EE starts off extremely broad and doesn’t really specialize until your senior year. Even then EE’s are more broadly employable, although CE’s make slightly more money. So both are good preparation for industry, the bigger question is just “which one appeals to you more?” Remember that a career is a long time to be stuck in a field you don’t like!

Can’t speak for the CE courses, but as an EE I would say that all of them are important, and the “most” important ones are those you wind up utilizing in your specialized job. For example, I work in remote sensing and communications, so E&M and comms would be the most important courses for me… but I still use the rest! In the next few weeks I will be doing some programming in C++, creating a layout for a circuit board, testing an FPGA, and checking the structural and thermal characteristics of a system - that covers essentially every course you listed! I don’t have to be an expert in all those areas, but I do have to understand them well enough to work with the experts!