<p>Hey I was wondering if I could get some opinions on an electrical engineering major with a minor in computer science. My parents, who are funding most of my college, think computer science is in, especially because they work in the field. They are asking me to do computer science as a major and forget about EE. I picked EE after hearing there are too many computer scientists already, and that EEs are in demand, and also because I seem to like the field (I like cs as well, so it is not an issue about personal interests). To compromise, I am thinking about getting a minor in CS. What is the most practical way to go about this to get a good job after college?</p>
<p>You’re going about this the wrong way! Don’t go into a field because you heard its good, or because you heard other fields are bad! The only way you can know if you like something is by trying it. Go to college, take a few courses in things that seem interesting, and see witch one you like best. </p>
<p>Also, I assure you that there aren’t “too many computer scientists”. Enrollment in CS programs has been falling for years now. That is why CS majors make so much money these days- slightly more than EE majors actually. Both fields are in very high demand constantly.</p>
<p>However, don’t pick a major based on what is “in”. Go to college, try it, and see witch is best then. Both EE and CS are fine fields.</p>
<p>Also, taking an additional minor won’t help you at your future job, because you will only ever be able to either work as a CS guy or an EE guy, not a hybrid of both. Only take a minor if you are sincerily interested in two fields.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I already finished one year of college, and took some electrical and cs courses already. I like them both. How does job security between EE and CS compare?</p>
<p>Forget about job security. What you SHOULD focus on is “how easily will I find another job?”</p>
<p>And the answer for both is “quickly”.</p>
<p>So is getting a CS minor a good compromise?</p>
<p>If you truly like both a lot, I’d major in the one you like slightly more, and minor the one you like less slightly less. At this point I would also consider salary. CS majors make slightly more than EE majors these days, witch is something to consider. Don’t worry about job security/ ease of job getting-both are fields that are secure, despite what people say</p>
<p>It’s called computer engineering.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies again…PurdueEE, is Comp. eng. as in depth as dedicated majors for EE and CS?</p>
<p>To some degree yes, and others no. You will know less EE than an EE major. You will know less CS than a CS major. However, you will know substantially more EE than a CS major and substantially more CS than an EE major. You will also study some things that CS and EE majors most likely don’t study on a regular basis.</p>
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<p>I don’t full agree with this answer simply because the Cmpe curriculum seems to vary quite a bit from school to school. At my school when I was a Cmpe student EE and Cmpe differed by 6 classes, now they differ by 4 (with one being a discrete math for cmpe). </p>
<p>[Bachelor</a> of Science in Computer Engineering Degree Requirements](<a href=“http://www.ece.gatech.edu/academics/undergrad/cmpe_require.html]Bachelor”>http://www.ece.gatech.edu/academics/undergrad/cmpe_require.html)
[Bachelor</a> of Science in Electrical Engineering Degree Requirements](<a href=“http://www.ece.gatech.edu/academics/undergrad/ee_require.html]Bachelor”>http://www.ece.gatech.edu/academics/undergrad/ee_require.html)</p>
<p>As you see it pretty much boils down to electives. So my advice to you is to see what the Cmpe program at your school(s) look like and make a decision from there. On CC i’ve read about people who have experience the same thing I have and people who have experience programs with more CS and less EE that i’ve experienced.</p>
<p>Even though I’m an EE, CompE is more valuable in my opinion. You’ll know as much EEs in addition to programming, which is very important. Programming skills take a while to nurture so you really have to go at it even when you’re done with the courses catered specifically to programming. Choosing CompE over EE is not going to greatly hinder your electrical engineering knowledge since the average ECE major doesn’t know that much anyways. If you wanna kick ass it’s all on you :P</p>
<p>I don’t know about others. In my experience, at my school, EE and CPE also differed by 4 classes + a couple labs.And then for about 25 units ( quarter), EE students can choose whatever emphasis or specified program they want to do. Im doing CPE because I don’t want to take Power engineering and some material courses. I think if you like Power, Instrumentation, Illumination , Communication you should go for EE. If you like Digital System, Mircoelectronic, Network and a little bit Software engineering, you should go for CPE.</p>
<p>Also , at some schools like mine, a CPE student can get the same emphasis or certificate as an EE student gets if that student finishes the course requirement.</p>
<p>CS and EE are both good fields to be in. Do whichever one you like more.</p>
<p>You might consult the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occuptational Outlook Handbook (BLS OOH) for information on earnings, demand, qualifications, growth, etc. of jobs (Programming, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, etc.)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks again, I have decided to stick to EE and CS minor and see how it goes.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cs.virginia.edu/bscs/ugradhandbook.pdf#page=23[/url]”>http://www.cs.virginia.edu/bscs/ugradhandbook.pdf#page=23</a></p>
<p>Sorry to bump it back up, I just want some opinions on the depth of the courses required for the CS minor at my college. Are they sufficient enough to complement a BS in EE? </p>
<p>It says two 300 level or above classes are also required, and I plan to take these:</p>
<p>**
CS 333 - Computer Architecture (Required for ECE major as well so killing 2 birds with one stone)**</p>
<p>Includes the organization and architecture of computer systems hardware; instruction set architectures; addressing modes; register transfer notation; processor design and computer arithmetic; memory systems; hardware implementations of virtual memory, and input/output control and devices.</p>
<p>AND one of the following, which is the most useful?:</p>
<p>[CS</a> 305- Hci In Software Development](<a href=“http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=305"]CS”>http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=305)</p>
<p>[CS</a> 340 - Advanced Software Development Techniques](<a href=“http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=340"]CS”>http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=340)</p>
<p>[CS</a> 414 - Operating Systems](<a href=“http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=414"]CS”>http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=414)</p>
<p>[CS</a> 432 - Algorithms](<a href=“http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=432"]CS”>http://records.uva.acalog.com/preview_course_incoming.php?catoid=17&prefix=CS&code=432)</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>
<p>i don’t know much about CS coursework, but i know that the last two classes sound way cooler than the first two. The first two sound like business classes.</p>
<p>edit: i just realized that i didn’t answer your question. oh well. i think you should let coolness be a criterion upon which you make course decisions.</p>
<p>Operating Systems if you want to work with hardware only, and algorithms if you ever want to touch real software projects.</p>
<p>lol operating systems aren’t real software projects.</p>
<p><em>looks with disdain at anyone who actually knows what a bit is</em></p>
<p>Operating systems without algorithms could make it possible to understand how OSs are related to the computer architecture.</p>
<p>Algorithms is a prerequisite to the study of designing, implementing, testing, etc. various operating system features.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply guys. So the other two classes are completely out of the question if I want a decent entry into the software field with a CS minor? I am surprised because I thought CS 340 would simulate the modern work environment in a software firm.</p>