Because I want to get enrolled in Berkeley, I want a major that is not extremely competitive ( My SAT score is 2150 with 4.00 UW). But I also want a major that leads to many job opportunities. Is it okay to apply for CS when you do not have any experience in coding? If I am math inclined, is it better to take L&S CS or EECS? What careers does applied math leads to and what are some merits to take engineering mathematics and statistics?
I have hard time deciding because I think two engineering majors that I chose will lead to more opportunity, but I believe CoE might be too competitive to me. Also, I am afraid that applied math won’t lead to many opportunities with no back- ground in engineering or programming designing…
Yes, it is okay to apply to CS if you don’t have any experience in coding; one of the things they will teach you in an undergrad CS program is how to code. (Note, though, that at Berkeley you will be competing with a lot of HS kids who do already know how to code.)
Depends. Both of them require a considerable amount of math. It really depends more on whether you want to be an engineer or not - or rather, whether you want the option. Lots of EE majors go into software development, but it’s harder for a CS major to switch into engineering.
The important thing when selecting a major is not just quantity of opportunities; quality of opportunities matter, too. It doesn’t matter that (hypothetically speaking) EECS offers 4 times as many opportunities as applied math if none of the EECS opportunities appeal to you. For an extreme example, CS can open a world of jobs, but if you don’t like to code and you don’t like computers those jobs are worthless to you
I would imagine that at Berkeley, the applied mathematics major is probably less competitive than the engineering majors or the CS major. So if your #1 goal is to get into Berkeley and you can’t decide, it might make more sense to apply as applied math. The engineering math & stats major sounds cool, though.
All of those seem like good majors, I’d do what ever you’re interested in. I wouldn’t worry about no coding experience, they’re not going to assume everyone there can already code.
It would be easier to answer what can’t you do with an Applied Mathematics degree. A mathematics degree from a tier 1 college will make you a pretty attractive option.
It’s hard to be specific when you’re not really citing what types of jobs may interest you.
Taking up CS will help you learn coding so there’s no harm in taking that. Your course choice shall help you learn a mo detailed version of what you want to learn, I don’t get why you are conscious about your backgrounds