EECS vs L&S CS + Math

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
1

<p>Hey, I'm currently a Bioengineering major looking to switch into either EECS or out of COE into L&S to double major in CS and Math. After I graduate I'm interested in working on maybe HCI or joining some sort of start-up in the Valley. Can anyone describe some of the career/job opportunities for both paths. Which major would be relatively more marketable in terms of grad school? What about jobs/salary after graduation or 10/20/30 years down the line. I'm really not sure what I want to do yet, so I'm just exploring all my options. Thanks!</p>

<p>PS: For the sake of argument, let's just say L&S CS without mathematics isn't one of the options at the moment, but its definitely something I'll look into.</p>

2

<p>If you have no interest in EE, like myself, then do CS in L&S.</p>

3

<p>Either option – switching majors, or switching into L&S – is a simple matter. EECS obviously has a greater emphasis on EE than L&S CS, but not by much. The real crux of the matter is whether you prefer the engineering breadths and requirements to their L&S counterparts. The difference between a Bachelor’s in EECS or one in CS is largely inconsequential, but it is easier to double (in Mathematics, or anything else) with L&S CS. Personally, I would go with the second option – a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics is a worthwhile combination, and I think you would get more out of it than you would through EECS.</p>

4

<p>Maybe applied math if you’e looking into industry. Not exactly sure how differential geometry or logic would help your job.</p>

5

<p>Do you find EE more interesting, or math more interesting?</p>

<p>If the former, choose EECS (though you can take a bunch of EE courses from L&S CS as long as you take at least 6 upper division CS courses). If the latter, choose L&S CS with extra Math courses or minor or second major.</p>

<p>Job and career wise, Math majors tend to head to finance and computer software (though the latter will be covered by CS, of course) – more so Applied Math, since Pure Math majors tend to favor graduate school in Math:</p>

<p><a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/AppMath.stm&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Math.stm[/url]”>https://career.berkeley.edu/Major/Math.stm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>For graduate school in any technical field, an undergraduate major in that field is the most optimal (i.e. EECS for EE, EECS or L&S CS for CS, Math for Math), but some graduate students come in from other technical fields (e.g. Math to CS, engineering to some other engineering, Physics to some kind of engineering, etc.).</p>