Is engineering right for me?

I’m a junior in high school ,and im going to a community college to get my associates and then go to a university and get my bachelors. I have a gpa of 3.6 and I hate math and physics. But I absolutely love computers and want to learn more about them and how they’re made. I want to know if I should stick to major in computer engineering or go for a CS degree just because I heard CS is easier.

Are you more interested in the software or hardware part of computers?

You’ll get your fair share of math in CS as well. CS is pretty much based off mathematics.

You won’t have to learn nearly as much physics in CS as CE, but you’ll still get a fair share of it if you’re going for a bachelor of science

If you hate math and physics you will hate studying engineering. If you hate math, you will hate studying computer science. Computer science is essentially a form of applied math, although it’s largely a different sort of math than you are used to from high school. It will still require the calculus sequence and basic physics, though.

Yeah I like the hardware. I just thought maybe my love and determination would get me though all the math and science involved in engineering. But I really don’t want to struggle and stress too much in my college years. But so far I think I’m going for the computer science degree.

I agree that you’ll absolutely hate Engineering if you hate Physics and Math @JulianIsHere.

I thought all schools required at least Calc for CS, but I just found one that doesn’t. They strongly recommend Calc through Multivariate, a course in Proofs, and one or more of (1)Linear Algebra With Differential Equations, (2)Mathematical Modeling, and (3)Applied Statistics.

It doesn’t look like any of those are required for the BA or BS, though. Physics isn’t required either.

It’s Denison in Ohio. Here’s the link:

http://denison.edu/academics/computer-science/degree-requirements

I think you could put together a program at the right school that would allow you to take what you like and avoid what you don’t, assuming you do CS. Forget Computer Engineering. They’ll kill you with Math and Physics everywhere. Just be really careful about which program you choose. I know people who never finished their degree because there were one or two courses they couldn’t get through with a passing grade.

I don’t know anything about Denison, but it does not appear to be an ABET-accredited degree. A more typical, accredited degree requires mathematics through multivariable calculus plus linear algebra and sometimes more, and often requires the standard two-course physics sequence (mechanics and electricity & magnetism).

See, for example: [url=<a href=“https://cs.illinois.edu/academics/degree-program-options/bs-computer-science-engineering%5DUIUC%5B/url”>https://cs.illinois.edu/academics/degree-program-options/bs-computer-science-engineering]UIUC[/url], [url=<a href=“https://www.csd.cs.cmu.edu/academics/undergraduate/requirements#bscsreq%5DCMU%5B/url”>https://www.csd.cs.cmu.edu/academics/undergraduate/requirements#bscsreq]CMU[/url], [url=<a href=“http://cs.stanford.edu/degrees/undergrad/Requirements.shtml%5DStanford%5B/url”>http://cs.stanford.edu/degrees/undergrad/Requirements.shtml]Stanford[/url]

@boneh3ad, I agree that the more standard programs require all those things. I was just pointing out that there are options for kids who like CS but want to avoid the Math and Physics.

I just checked a couple of schools, and it looks like RPI and WPI are also not accredited in CS. Amherst isn’t either and there are no Math or Physics requirements there. Surprising. I thought most programs were like the more typical ones you mentioned.

Re: #5

Stanford and CMU do not actually have ABET accreditation for CS:
http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramsDetails.aspx?OrganizationID=420
http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramsDetails.aspx?OrganizationID=370

Well, that wasn’t exactly my point though and you know that. Perhaps ABET is not the appropriate accrediting body or perhaps it’s just something that companies in that field don’t care about very much. I’m not a computer scientist so I don’t know the answer there. What I do know is that all the “top” programs require the calculus sequence plus linear algebra and often more, and that some require physics.

ABET does accredit CS majors, and can be looked at as a sign that the major meets a decent minimum standard (could be better, of course), but it is not generally considered essential for a quality CS major (although non-ABET-accredited CS majors can range from poor to excellent). It is useful for the patent exam.

It is true that most decent CS majors require calculus and linear algebra, but the most important math course for CS is discrete math (and the upper division CS theory courses are very much like math courses). Physics requirements tend to be at engineering-based CS majors, or those at schools where physics is a general education requirement (e.g. MIT). ABET accredited CS majors do require some non-CS science, and 1/4 of the degree program in math and non-CS science.