<p>Im sure this question has been asked many times before, but what is the difference between a EE major and a COE major? My school has tried to tell me the true differences, but i guess they still dont seem to apparent to me. What are the difference in their future jobs? and also, what is the difference in the general classes that they have to take? I've heard that EE is a very math intensive major..how math intensive is Computer Engineering then? and i guess a subjective question is which one is considered more difficult as far as material? I am a Computer Engineer (just declared it), so im also curious if anyone knows any particulary interesting classes that Computer Engineers have to take, and are there any classes (in general) that are a pain to take? Again, sorry if this is a repost. Thanks!</p>
<p>Most likely you will take the same courses as EE your first 4-5 semesters. COE will then move closer to software (OS's, Algorithms, Software Engineering etc) EE will then move to Quantum physics, E-Waves, Power Engineering etc. </p>
<p>Technically, you could do the same exact courses (through technical electives etc) and end up with either a COE or EE degree. SE is also very similar up until your 4-5 semesters. Switching between them isn’t a problem until maybe your last semester since they are so similar. At least at my University anyways.</p>
<p>I'm a sophomore in Computer Engineering and I talk to people from both EE and COE (or CprE, called different things at different schools) on a day-to-day basis.</p>
<p>In my opinion, Computer Engineering is no different than EE with an emphasis or specialization in Computers. Meaning along with working with analog circuits, signals, and other EE-related things, you'll be working with digital logic, microprocessors, etc.</p>
<p>In EE you can specialize in all sorts of things, such as Power Systems, Signal Processing, Optical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Etc. (and in some schools some of these specializations are separate majors)</p>
<p>As far as math, they both require the same amount of math, the only difference really being in the elective classes you choose to take towards your specialization (i.e. not much difference). </p>
<p>Future job outlooks are both quite good; I don't think you'll ever be without a job in these fields, but it's very arguable as to which specialization or which major is the most demanding. </p>
<p>There is some software engineering in my school's CprE program, which I happen to dislike more than my other classes, but as far as classes that are a pain, I'd say there's a fair share of them in both majors. </p>
<p>Classes that might be a pain in either major: Circuits, Signals, Electronics, Communications... depending on the school and instructor... Probably no way to dodge more than one of those though, since they're fairly standard EE/CprE curriculum.</p>
<p>Why are the software engineering classes a pain? Im not huge on programming, but i do know all the basic programming languages and i guess i dont mind programming (as long as the assignment is trivial or pointless). How are these languages implemented later in a Computer Engineering curriculum?</p>
<p>It's not really the coding that's a pain in my opinion, (in EE you'll do plenty of it, most likely), it's just data structures and algorithmic software stuff kind of bores me and programming hardware appeals to me a lot more than programming software. It's just my opinion; a lot of people disagree with me, so don't take my word for it.</p>
<p>At my school the only language you learn as a CprE that an EE doesn't have to take is Java. VHDL might be another language offered to CprEs that might not be in EE curriculums at schools, and I'd highly recommend it.</p>