<p>Hi all. I am about a month away from graduating from a community college with an Associate of Science degree in Computer Networking. There is an option to get a Bachelor of Applied Science Degree in Computer Networking at a nearby 4 year University but it is focused more on being an Administrator with a lot of business classes, which really doesnt appeal to me.
I decided to go a bit of a different route, I want a Bachelor degree in the Computer/IT field but just not Computer Networking.</p>
<p>At another University there are Computer Science (CS) and Computer Engineering (CE) programs. Im planning to go there in the Fall but not quite sure if I should major in CS or CE. I did take some programming classes at the community college, a semester of Python, a semester of Java and a class in databases using some SQL. However these were all 100 level introductory classes and I averaged about a B. Some of it was enjoyable, some if it was...frustrating.</p>
<p>Now Ive also been looking at CE because from what I gather its about actually designing the hardware in a computer. I do like computer hardware more than software. Ever since building my first computer by buying parts online about 5 years ago, its kinda been my hobby, building computers for friends and family, and a little bit of PC case modding. Now i know there is a big difference between building a computer by buying parts online and actually designing the hardware like in CE, but it appeals to me a bit more.</p>
<p>Now my biggest reservation for not doing CE is the engineering perquisites, just to get into the College of Engineering Id still have to take classes in Chemistry, Physics and my worst subject of all, Math. In high school i barely passed Algebra I, retook it at community college, failed Algebra II once at community college, retook it. Then took College Algebra, failed it and this semester redoing it. i believe I need to go up to Calc II to get into the college of engineering. Now I dont think its impossible but i know it will be very, very difficult for me.</p>
<p>So I guess my question here is how important is math in CE? And what is CE really like? Is it more along the lines of Electrical Engineering with some Assembly language programming thrown in? Also what type of career could I get if I major in CE?</p>
<p>Computer engineering programs vary in terms of what’s required, to the point that it might depend more or less on your specific program. The ACM publishes curriculum recommendations which, unless I’m mistaken, ABET takes into account when establishing accreditation standards. You can read about computer science, computer engineering, software engineering and information systems curricula here at [Curricula</a> Recommendations — Association for Computing Machinery](<a href=“http://www.acm.org/education/curricula-recommendations]Curricula”>Curricula Recommendations) .</p>
<p>If you have some programming ability (which you’ve seemed to demonstrate) and passion for making computers (more important), and if you are neither interested nor particularly gifted in math (which you’ve also suggested), then you would probably enjoy computer engineering more than computer science. Whereas computer science leans more towards mathematics and software, computer engineering leans more towards systems and hardware.</p>
<p>The math in computer engineering should be no worse than the math in CS, nor any worse than the math in EE. As a program somewhere between these two, you should expect to be taking broader, rather than deeper, mathematics courses, and doing more kinds of relatively less sophisticated math (compared to CS and EE majors, who might by comparison do fewer kinds of more sophisticated mathematics). At the undergraduate level, having the broader exposure that such a program would provide is, in my opinion, actually a positive thing.</p>
<p>If the worst part about computer engineering is that you have to take some prerequisites, grit your teeth and do it. I think you’ll be glad you did. This is especially true since a CS program not in the college of engineering is likely to be even more mathematically oriented, meaning that you would probably be absolutely miserable going that route.</p>
<p>thanks for the reply, and sorry for the late response. im still on the fence about which major to choose but im a bit more leaning towards CE. Like i said one of the things holding me back is the Engineering Prerequisites especially math. but if i major in either CE or CS i’d still need those calculus classes either way.</p>
<p>so im still thinking about it but at least now i can make a more informed decisions.</p>
<p>also what kind of careers can i have with a CE major?</p>
<p>I went through this phase; at the end I realized CSE is my passion. Not to mention, there are far, far more opportunities in CS vis-a-vis CpE. Simply a no brainer if you ask me. What you should do is minor in EE if you are interested in hardware. A CS program simply offers a lot more than a CpE program, although this widely varies by school.</p>
<p>Caveat:
My institution played a major role, I attend Stony Brook University where we have an excellent Computer Science program. Seeing how it’s not easy to get into the major, and how the faculty consists of amazing researchers, I couldn’t resist to be part of the department.</p>
<p>hi, I dont mean to bump an old thread.</p>
<p>@QCstudent:</p>
<p>the university im going to doesnt offer EE as a minor. but they do offer CS as a minor. so i could major in Electrical Engineering/Computer Engineering and minor in Computer Science.</p>
<p>well as of today, I applied and got accepted to university as a CS major. I will go through my first semester there as CS and after that I will decide if I should contuine doing CS or switch my major to Computer Engineering.</p>
<p>thanks for all of your replies.</p>