<p>I'm a second year student at SJSU and debating if I should stay with computer engineering or switch to electrical engineering. Both majors are good at my school. I want to make/design microchips after college but I don't know which course of study to take. Initially I thought computer engineers work with hardware after college but after talking to numerous people in industry and a few professors it seems like they only go into software and EEs into hardware. I looked over both major's curriculums and yet I don't even know what half the classes are about even with the description. I seem to like the CmpE's curriculum better. The EE's curriculum is rather boring to me like radiowaves and electromagnetic fields. The only thing that intrigued me are the integrated circuits classes (which both majors have, not sure they are the same). I took my first CmpE class (C++) last semester and was alright until pointers and taking my first EE class right now. Haven taken/taking classes in both majors I still do not know what I like. Two sayings which I've heard from people are constantly repeating in my mind are: "EE's can do everything CmpE's can and more" and "All your CmpE professors are EE majors". Can someone give me some insight and advice on changing my major? I need to make a decision soon...I start upper division studies in the fall.</p>
<p>I think you are too overly concerned with names and terms (EE vs CompE). Really, these are just names and classifications, nothing more. When you graduate and going for your first job, presumably as a chip designer, either named degree would be fine. The key here is what kind of courses you have taken, how well you have done in those classes and how much you know as an EE grad. Your potential employer will ask you about courses you took and try to ascertain from you how well you have learned in school. Pure chip design is in the realm of HW engineer and the more you know about all aspects of electrical engineer will make you a better engineer including EM fields and radio waves theory, after all, electrical signals inside the chip do act like waves travelling through a medium. Depend on the context of the problem you may want to solve, you may need to treat it in a different way other than 1s and 0s. So pay attention to all the courses including Analog electronic and EM wave theory.</p>
<p>To become chip designer for starter, some of the advanced classes you need to start taking are computer architecture, digital logic design, VLSI design and Semiconductor physics and maybe some DSP and Hardware Description Language (HDL) programming.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. You keep mentioning EE…</p>
<p>A chip designer would typically be an EE - not a CE. </p>
<p>The CE typically takes ‘some’ EE courses and ‘some’ CS courses and would typically be more involved with the use and perhaps the design of microcontrollers and embedded systems but many end up doing CS work. Although they might design a circuit that uses a microcontroller and other chips they typically wouldn’t do the chip design itself which is really a specialty area. An exception is that they might do some programmable logic array (FPGA, PAL, etc.) type design. The above poster is right - when you do an EE major you get a general education but many aspects of that education play into a lot of facets of the field - like electro-magnetic waves and shielding and its impact on chips and most other electronics. </p>
<p>The idea that an EE can do everything a CE can do is wrong - they don’t take nearly the number of CS type courses that a CE or CS major does. Conversely, the CE doesn’t typically take the number of EE type courses the EE would do. This is why they have separate majors. </p>
<p>I used the word ‘typically’ a lot because there can be multiple paths to get to a point so you’ll always find exceptions.</p>
<p>I used to carpool with an Intel employee (1984) in the 286/386 era. Even at 300Mhz, the old traditional design rules for digital butted against analog design rules. </p>
<p>My BIL who designs mw and communcation circuits has long moved into the physics realm of circuitry.</p>
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<p>I don’t know what the curriculum at your particular school looks like but you did mention that you want to “make/design microchips”. The courses that I mentioned are the ones you want to gravitate towards if you want to do what you said. Taking C++ and other CS programming related courses are not exactly applicable. However, there is one other important thing that you should understand. Chip design also involves logic and digital system design. This aspect of chip design involves coming up with digital logic system that operate in a very complicated way. Chip like today’s Intel CPU is so complicated that it takes lots and lots of engineers using various computer programs and tools to design, simulate and verify the functionality of the chip. Many specialized languages are used to describe the design and the hardware system is simulated and run similar to the way you write a software program. In this aspect, having CE degree and strong CS knowledge is very applicable.</p>
<p>Thanks for clearing things up. Now I can’t decide if I want to switch or not. I want to learn the stuff in the computer engineering curriculum but want to work in EE fields after college. @_@</p>
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<p>From reading many posts on the forums, this seems to vary from school to school. At Georgia Tech the EE/CE curriculum differs by about six classes. In fact, at orientation they advise you not to major in both because industry recognizes them as almost being identical. Having said that, i’ve read several posts on here where people have said that their Cmpe program differ significantly from the EE program at their school and are a heavy mix of CS. Others have experienced what i’ve experienced.</p>
<p>It has been awhile since I have gone to school or looked at EE curriculum, but I generally agree with you that they are almost identical. Usually, there is nothing that will stop a EE major to take the courses required in CE major and vice versa. The graduation requirement probably is very slightly different with most likely CE degree requiring a few courses that EE does not. This is why I have been saying that it generally does not matter what degree you get, unless you want to do pure software or analog/RF design where you definitely need CE/CS or straight EE respectively. It is the first job that you happen to stumble upon and what you learn after that.</p>
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Back when I was in school I wouldn’t have believed this.</p>
<p>vblick:</p>
<p>You’re right that the difference between EE/CE/CS will vary with the particular college but my point is that if I wanted to hire a chip designer and had a choice between an EE and a CE I’d lean towards the EE because chances are they’ve taken more EE courses than the CE. If I wanted someone to design an embedded type of circuit including writing firmware, I’d lean toward a CE. If I wanted someone to design and develop a new software application or system, I’d lean toward a CS. One would need to look at the particular curriculum for the major/school to see what the education actually covered. Notice the term ‘lean’ because I’d also look at their experience and particular background.</p>
<p>If the OP is quite certain of the desire to make microchips, EE would be the best choice.</p>
<p>OP - you’re in the heart of silicon valley, I suggest you discuss this with academic advisors, profs, and people you know who actually do the job of chip design if you or your family/friends know any.</p>