Torn between EE and CS.

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I'm getting ready to start an Engineering Physics course at the University of Texas, meaning I'm starting on my engineering path now. I'm actually beginning to have thoughts about Computer Science, though. I've always loved programming. Programming seems to come pretty naturally to me, as far as learning languages, solving problems, and coming up with algorithms. Plus, I think I might be interested in artificial intelligence, though, I think I would really enjoy a job with Microsoft or Apple, if I decided to pursue a CS major. I think of great app ideas all the time!</p>

<p>So, while most people would probably tell me to just do CS, I'm also interested in EE. I love the idea of being able to understand the hardware behind the software. Also, I have an interest in robotics and having the opportunity to program microcontrollers (though, I haven't done this yet). Another thing... I like aerospace a lot, and I think I might would enjoy working on a UAV project and being the one to implement my skills in order to bring it to life in terms of controlling it and giving it the ability to think/operate. I guess, sometimes, a lot of my creative ideas I think require an electrical engineer's knowledge. For instance, I've had this cool idea/dream of creating a "smart" home, including an advanced security system and implementing technologies that make it somewhat aware and can alert the home owner of problems around the house and much more. Working on something like this seems like it involves both electrical engineering and computer science knowledge. Am I correct on this?</p>

<p>I'm currently going for Electrical Engineering, as some people have said that an EE can learn programming like that through experience, while the other way around may be harder without being taught somehow. I'm not certain of how true this is or to what level, so if someone could shed a little light on the matter, that would be great. Even if that is true, does that mean any similar job prospects? Does it sound like I should go for Computer Science or stay in Electrical Engineering? ...or maybe even consider an Electrical Engineering degree and take the "Software Engineering" tract that's offered at the university? ...though the class titles don't seem as interesting as the CS ones.</p>

<p>NOTE: I've considered talking to my advisor about a EE/CS dual major, but I know there are a lot of possible cons to a dual major, especially with such a tough combination.</p>

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<p>You do indeed learn a fair bit of programming in EE, but it’s more focused on the high-performance languages (C, C++, Assembly) than on the more consumer-oriented languages (Java, Python, others). The rest of CS covers a great deal more in the way of languages and good practice, so you’ll get more of that than in EE, where you’re going to be taking lots and lots of physics instead.
It’s definitely easier to go EE->CS than the other way around. You’ll be able to catch up in CS with experience (and learning new languages, which CS have to do anyway), while it’s not so easy to catch up on missed technical knowledge. That being said, if electronics are not your cup of tea, go right to CS because you’ll get a lot more programming.</p>

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<p>Hm… Thank you for the insight! Honestly, I’m not sure if electronics are my cup of tea or not. The problem is, I haven’t had any experience tinkering with hardware/electronics too much, except for some YouTube videos on logic gates and making your own 4 bit computer from transistors. It was really interesting! It seems like it would be really interesting to fully understand it all, especially if I get to solder circuits and stuff together! That seems awesome, especially when it works. Haha. Question… If I graduated with an EE degree then decided I wanted to interview for a job at MS hoping to help design the next Windows OS (a purely SE job), is that something even remotely feasible?</p>

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<p>Yeah, I think that would be feasible, especially since a project like that values function over ease of programming. Granted, someone who does exactly what they want will be favored, but that’s true for everything.</p>

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<p>You sound like you’re more interested in Computer Engineering than either CS or EE.</p>

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<p>I was in the same boat as you, I chose CSE(Computer Science) at SBU simply because CS is in more demand in the tri-state area.</p>