Range of number of classes required for the same (ABET) major at different schools

[hebegebe]

@bluedog23

Also, what industry are the CS grads going into from Brown?

I suspect the most common outcomes for Brown CS grads were FAANG, hedge funds/trading firms, and PhDs, likely in that order. With FAANG hires recently becoming less common, a few more may shift into the latter two, but the number they take is limited.

Note that hiring for hedge funds/trading firms was already much more selective than hiring for FAANGs. The same is true for being able to join the best PhD programs. In college admission terms, for the talented Brown CS students, FAANGs were match/safety whereas the other two were the reaches.

@bluedog23

For instance, my daughter is in the aerospace industry she works with engineers from MIT to Colorado School of Mines… her company does not pay more for engineer grads based on the school.

It’s not that you get higher pay in the same firm, but that there are higher paying jobs more readily available. My literal next door neighbor has a child that attends Brown. He will be joining a trading firm after graduation, making somewhere north of $400k his first year.

ETA: Another “reach” available for Brown CS students is starting a company and getting venture funding.

[neela1]

You are exactly right that FAANG is match/safety at some of these schools.

[Knowsstuff]

That income is also an outlier but he great if you can get it.

[neela1]

Deleted

[hebegebe]

Can confirm for Harvard as well. And if you add in the students who chose their other reach fields, such as starting a company or PhDs, you are likely talking closer to 20%.

[momofboiler1]

Not everyone that goes into CS wants to work for a hedge fund or trading firm. Please don’t turn yet another thread into that discussion!

[DadOfJerseyGirl]

@momofboiler1

Not everyone that goes into CS wants to work for a hedge fund or trading firm.

Many people here on CC will find that very hard to believe

I know an absolutely brilliant math/CS/physics grad (friend’s son) from a tippy-top school that went to work for NASA making something in the low 100s. And he loves what he does.

Must be an underachiever

[clockila]

https://www.brown.edu/campus-life/support/careerlab/post_grad_data/concentration/COMP
These are outcomes for Brown CS majors.

[neela1]

It is actually worthy of a thread — what do people on CC think their kids want to do, or what do kids on CC want to do post grad — dream job. Post whatever major is of interest. My son tells me that kids who do real engineering ( as opposed to fake engineering like CS) mostly take up engineering jobs.

[neela1]

So you are saying the kid is an outlier in more ways than one, especially if you found it interesting to mention the kid :-).

[bluedog23]

@hebegebe

My literal next door neighbor has a child that attends Brown. He will be joining a trading firm after graduation

Is that child a CS major or engineering? I do not disagree that IB/consulting/VC recruit from T-15 schools.

[momofboiler1]

Yes, but in its own thread!

[DadOfJerseyGirl]

He’s in the minority at his particular school (which does skew IB/Wall Street). But if you look across the board, CS grads have a very wide range of interests. I’d say next to IB/WS, FAANG also gets a lot of attention on these boards but not everyone wants to go there either. That was my point.

[1NJParent]

My son was flown around to a few top HFs during his freshman year, but after his first summer internship, he decided not to continue on that path because he thought – how should I put it – what they were doing was too “pedestrian” (he was studying CS/AI in college). I’ve also had a pretty good seat to observe what’s going on and I don’t disagree with him.

I generally don’t mind slightly off-topic discussions myself , but in this case, I don’t think OP has indicated that her son was interested in a job in finance. Until she does, I agree with @momofboiler1 that we shouldn’t delve too much into that familiar topic again.

[DadSays]

Deleted.

[Lindagaf]

Back to the topic please.

[austinmshauri]

Be careful of hidden requirements. Some schools are able to list fewer overall requirements for their major because they don’t include the prereqs. For instance, discrete math may not be required for the major, but it may be a prereq for a class that is.

[MAmomto4]

Good point. I noticed this with one obvious requirement at Brown. The first math class that is required for CE is Calculus 2, but clearly you have to take Calculus 1 before you can take calculus two.

[ucbalumnus]

@MAmomto4

We’re wondering–do the schools that require fewer classes pack more into each class? That would make the workload similar across schools for the same major. If that isn’t generally the case, schools that require you to take 3-4 engineering classes per semester as well as a couple of non-engineering classes are going to be a lot more challenging than schools that require fewer classes.

It may be better to make the comparison in terms of semester credit hour equivalents, since some colleges may have mostly 3 credit courses that students take 5 of each semester, while other colleges may have mostly 4 credit courses that students take 4 of each semester. Some colleges may also split labs off into separate courses (e.g. physics + physics lab instead of physics with lab).

For reference, the ABET minimum course / credit volume for engineering majors lists:

@ABET Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs

Criterion 5. Curriculum

The curriculum requirements specify subject areas appropriate to engineering but do not prescribe specific courses. The program curriculum must provide adequate content for each area, consistent with the student outcomes and program educational objectives, to ensure that students are prepared to enter the practice of engineering. The curriculum must include:

a. a minimum of 30 semester credit hours (or equivalent) of a combination of college-level mathematics and basic sciences with experimental experience appropriate to the program.
b. a minimum of 45 semester credit hours (or equivalent) of engineering topics appropriate to the program, consisting of engineering and computer sciences and engineering design, and utilizing modern engineering tools.
c. a broad education component that complements the technical content of the curriculum and is consistent with the program educational objectives.
d. a culminating major engineering design experience that 1) incorporates appropriate engineering standards and multiple constraints, and 2) is based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work.

Note that many ABET accredited engineering majors in practice require more than 75 semester credit hours or equivalent in technical (math, science, engineering) courses.

Note that ABET accredited computer science has different criteria from the above.

[ucbalumnus]

@hebegebe

Having ABET accreditation means that a graduating student is moderately well prepared. That is why I say the rest is signaling.

Subarea coverage and emphasis within the major can vary at different colleges / departments. This may affect what in-major electives are available to the student.

ABET accreditation basically sets a reasonably high minimum standard, so the program is reasonable preparation for working in engineering. But different programs meeting that standard can vary in many ways (not just in signaling prestige).