<p>Auburn says very well.</p>
<p>If you really want to do circuit and hardware design then take EE. If you want to work on software then take CS or CE. CE (with software orientation) provides a strong background for software engineering that deals with system that controls the hardware and instruments. For job security, I think software provide more flexibility. Furthermore not all software engineers are equal. Successful software engineers have a lot of creativity, problem solving skills, curiosity, and common sense. Software engineers must be familiar with abstraction.</p>
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I know a lot about the software industry actually. I understand that you can do amazing things with software, but I am sick to death of lame IT jobs/internships where I configure SQL databases and write ASP.NET server side code. This is NOT what I want to do for the rest of my life...if I become a programmer I want to solve deep programming issues or design original, complex software from the beginning stages to deployment. Not just another lame web form, which is why I am a little disillusioned with software.
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<p>Well, there are a lof of different types of software projects. However, most of the time, you'll be working on code that other people previously worked on. You won't be working on groundbreaking stuff - you'll be fixing bugs, improving performance, adding new features, etc.</p>
<p>IMO, the best way to ensure that you will work on original stuff is to form your own company. Either that, or make an original project your hobby.</p>
<p>It's true that most of the work won't be on groundbreaking stuff, but with hard work and experience such opportunities do present themselves. I agree you'd get more of that in your own business or hobbies, but... well, in a certain sense, it's just as important to maintain good ideas as it is to make revolutionary ones. You should really enjoy doing both... I mean, in a sense, it's nice to work on things that have already been hammered out for the most part. Remember, half the fun of engineering is making old things better.</p>
<p>Don't turn down an opportunity to take COBOL or FORTRAN. During tough oil times, my husband was able to land a job during the Y2K scare because he knew COBOL and FORTRAN. That got his foot in the door in the government subcontracting field, and he's been steadily employed ever since. I would strongly encourage any engineering major to have a good computer background. Engineers are frequently laid off, and you can always pick up rent money as a programmer through a temp agency.</p>
<p>As an Electrical Engineer, would there be a higher likelihood of designing systems rather than tweaking them as in software engineering? Or its the same in either case?</p>
<p>My gut feeling says that until you have a few years of experience, they won't let you design from scratch anything of any actual value. Why would they? They have experienced people for that.</p>