So I’ve been going back and forth for the past few weeks over which school would be better for me.
First, a few things that don’t matter much to me:
-College life
-Distance from home
-Cost of tuition
And the things that do matter:
-Job prospects while/after attending (in the bay area)
-Time it takes to graduate (ability to actually get into classes)
So I got in as a transfer student to Cal Poly SLO for electrical engineering and got into SJSU for software engineering.
Now, I’ve heard extremely great things about Cal Poly’s engineering program, but after recently diving deeper into statistics about SJSU’s software engineering grads and finding that they’re being heavily recruited by silicon valley companies, I’ve been having second thoughts. I heard from many that Cal Poly is well-respected in the tech industry for their hands-on approach. I also heard that Apple and Cisco recruit mainly from SJSU.
Also, there’s the whole idea of electrical engineering vs software engineering. I honestly like them both equally, but have been leaning towards software engineering because of the large job pool and high salary. I was also thinking of switching my major to computer engineering at Cal Poly, which I’ve heard is fairly easy since EE and CPE are so similar. This should allow me to get some software jobs.
I’m at a crossroads here and need a little help. I’m stressing out as this may effect the rest of my life. I know it’s tough to give me a definitive answer, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks everyone!
P.S. I got into UC Davis for computer engineering in case anyone feels the need to convince me that’s the right choice.
I can promise you that Cisco and Apple don’t “mainly” recruit from SJSU. They are large companies and they recruit from all over the country, and certainly from SLO.
Both are good options. At first blush, posters might favor Cal Poly over SJSU based on name, but Apple has more graduates from SJSU than any other school, by a long margin (Cal Poly is also a favored Apple school). Your ability to get a job will hinge far more on what you do the next two years versus which school you choose. Get good grades and get involved a club, do research or find a major related job.
Decide SE or EE. That seems like the crux.
As a side note, switching majors at Cal Poly is not easy. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops. You might want to call the CENG to see if you’d graduate late with a major switch.
I think as @eyemgh mentioned the real crux right now is EE and SE. Both pay very well and (SE: 100k median, EE 95k median) so the pay advantage is almost negligible. At both schools you
Here are four questions I recommend asking yourself:
Which career is more exciting and will set yourself up for success. You could be payed $1 million a year and hate your job. Interesting work really doesn’t feel like work.
Are there any external factors in your decision? Are you making the decision because one path seems “cooler”, which one do you secretly want to do? A good trick is to flip a coin between the two. If you are sad with the result, the winner should be obvious.
Do you think you would want to end up in one area in particular? Both EE and SE are very versatile, but SE allows for more physical mobility. You could work remotely if needed.
Which major gives you more flexibility? For example, most people I know only work at Apple for 1-5 years before moving on.
Another thing to note. In SE/CompSci you will always have to be training and learning in order to keep your job and possibility of being oursourced, where as EE the fundamentals are always constant.
I did not say or imply this. What i did say, which is a fact, is that Apple has more SJSU alumni than they do from any other school.
Full disclosure…my son is an ME at Cal Poly. Most posters here know that I’m a fan. In no way is what I said meant to detract from CP in any way, but simply to reassure the OP that they have two good choices and their decision should be based on factors beyond school name, factors @r77r77 further elucidated.