<p>I have applied for the ECE program at CMU which comes under CIT. How difficult will it be for me if I wish to transfer to SCS after the first year?</p>
<p>From what we heard from the dean we spoke to, quite hard. They have more applicants for internal transfers than they can accept. </p>
<p>Note that he told us that in passing to explain why they don't accept outside transfers at all (why take students from other schools when you can't accept the ones that want in who are already at CMU?), so I might not have the whole picture. </p>
<p>SCS is still the toughest CMU school to get into by far, so it can't be too far from the truth.</p>
<p>Not everyone who applies gets in and they strictly tell prospective students that its pretty hard and depends on space. However, if you take the ncessary classes and stay in good standing, I know quite a few people who have succeeded. </p>
<p>I think you should talk to people who have ACTUALLY transferred and you'll see they seem to have avg gpa's. Never talk to prospective students, parents, or faculty as they are all under the impression that its super hard to transfer internally (mostly its the administration that trickles this information down to avoid massive transferring).</p>
<p>Either way, ECE/SCS are very similar and you should be happy at either.</p>
<p>CS is basically programming..
ECE would have alot to do with electronics..</p>
<p>Big difference between the two I think. I had this dilemna too on whether to do a CS or ECE. I chose ECE because a large number of industries look for ECE graduates while CS would mainly restrict you to software companies</p>
<p>Well I am still in dilemma over ECE and CS. I am more interested in software than hardware and would like to SPECIALIZE in that. However, when I applied I always thought that the two courses are pretty similar. Its just recently, after doing some research, that I feel that the difference is a bit prominent. And the fact that CS grads are paid more than the ECE grads provided the final blow to my already confused state of mind!!</p>
<p>where did u read that CS grads are paid more?
Generally, the value of a CS degree has been declining over the years..</p>
<p>ECE is more versatile.. Many more companies are looking for ECE graduates opposed to CS graduates..</p>
<p>Also, as Accepted said, you could take some CS classes as free electives.. and easily switch between careers..</p>
<p>Uh.. you're joking. CS is ALL concepts besides intro coding. ECE has hardware yes but it is still problem-solving logic. Lots of people double in ECE/CS as the basic concepts apply across both majors.</p>
<p>Listen, I'm gonna guess that more than 50% of transfers get in. The reason I say this is because my personal friend got in with a barely above 3.0 gpa freshman year. </p>
<p>At worst, you can double major in CS.</p>
<p>PS: CS salaries are a bit inflated. MANY ECE grads go into business or consulting while more CS people go into programming which offers high starting salaries but has a ceiling (they are basically code monkeys). Much like how avg engineering salaries are usually higher than avg econ salaries even when comparing CMU(55s-60sk starting) vs say, Upenn Wharton (55k starting).</p>
<p>CS doesn't cover most concepts to do with circuit building, programming circuits, building electronics, programming ICs, etc.</p>
<p>CS basically covers all aspects of software programming.. It has hardly any hardware component to it.. Hence, your scope would be restricted to mainly software companies..</p>
<p>ECE is considered more versatile because almost every industry that relies on any sort of electronics employ ECE graduates.. from Intel, AMD to Microsoft, to Sony to the automobile industry to NASA, etc.</p>
<p>Also, its easier to switch to software programming after doing an ECE than vice versa.. You can't go to hardware with a CS, but after doing an ECE, you can always take a programming course and you'd be at the same level as any CS graduate..</p>
<p>I've known plenty of people who've prefered an ECE because of the flexibility you get later on.. CS.. you are stuck with programming the rest of your life..</p>
<p>This is very true.</p>
<p>I don't even know why people want to transfer from ECE to CS. However I guess if you're a prestige whore or a total code monkey and you want to land that Microsoft/Google intern/job then you can go for CS.</p>
<p>One thing I will admit is that CS people usually get better interns when going for the same interns as ECE people.</p>
<p>
[quote]
where did u read that CS grads are paid more?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>CMU publishes figures. The 2004-2005 average (mean) starting salary for ECE majors was $58,685. For SCS majors it was $67,500. The medians might be more interesting, though, $57,000 for ECE versus $71,000 for SCS.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/scs/statistics.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/scs/statistics.html</a>
<a href="http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/employ/salary/ECE.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/employ/salary/ECE.pdf</a></p>
<p>The links are pretty informative.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Generally, the value of a CS degree has been declining over the years..
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Nope. Starting salaries went down one year after the dot.com bubble burst, but they recovered and are higher than ever. See above. </p>
<p>BTW, Accepted, the dean said that he typically has only 10 transfer slots each year. That's a direct quote from the man deciding who does and doesn't get in. I can't speak to the number of students that want to transfer. YMMV</p>
<p>And trust me, all technical careers have salary ceilings. There are ways around them, but they all do if all you want to do is the technical work. As does business, of course.</p>
<p>hey! I'm applying for ECE as well and looking to transfer SCS (I am more interested in software rather than hardware). As i said before in another thread, it is <em>very</em> difficult to transfer (my information comes from a current SCS student) but very possible to double major.</p>
<p>Good luck to you. =]</p>
<p>10 is a lot of slots when considering almost nobody in most other schools such as Tepper/HSS/CFA(most MCS) want to go to SCS.</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>But 10 slots isn't many when you consider the number of students who didn't get into SCS and hope to transfer from a school that would accept them later.</p>
<p>I hate to discourage anyone, but it would seem wise to go into a situation like that with realistic expectations.</p>
<p>Strick, you don't know the applicants/number of transfers.</p>
<p>However I would agree that for ECE transferring into CS, nothing is guaranteed but it's definitely not as impossible as say... NYU CAS to Stern transfer.</p>
<p>strict11,</p>
<p>the reason why ECE have lower starting salaries because many companies are actually employing them as electrical engineers..</p>
<p>ECE graduates being employed as Computer Engineers are paid quite heavily.. I know a ECE graduate working at Boeing that pulls in over 80K annually within his first 2 years.. and He's looking after integration of things like flight avionics.. etc</p>
<p>if you see the highest salary of ECE graduates... its at $90K, higher than any CS graduate based on those stats..</p>
<p>To me, the ECE stats seem skewed, because I'm sure there are many more students graduating with ECE degrees than CS degrees, and most start out as an electrical engineer trainee.. a</p>
<p>CS, you can go straight to a computer programming job.. My main concern with programming jobs is the rate at which they are getting sourced, to be very honest...</p>
<p>an ECE graduate that has good a programming degree is just as good as a CS student...</p>
<p>lol.. May I ask why you wrote 3 separate posts?</p>
<p>my thoughts are not as well collected as your's, accepted :)</p>
<p>
[quote]
if you see the highest salary of ECE graduates... its at $90K, higher than any CS graduate based on those stats..
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yes, but if you look again, last year one (or more) of the CS students came in at $105K, more than any ECE student in recent times. Highs like that are hard to compare without a better at the underlying numbers or the background of the individuals. </p>
<p>It's like MBA programs. The MBAs from Stanford typically make much more than MBAs from most other programs. On the other hand, they generally don't enter the program until they have 10 years experience and they already proven themselves successful. You can't compare the "starting" salary of someone like that with another MBA student who went straight through to get his.</p>
<p>BTW, while any CS graduate can code on graduation, most of them go through a trainee program, too. Class work or even projects just aren't the same thing as real work in any field and there are areas they have to understand that are too practical to be taught in college. They don't become effective employees for some time after they're first hired, which is why many jobs require 3 years relevant experience.</p>
<p>I know CS grads making in the 80s after only a year or two, too, some sitting near me right now. They're in absolutely no danger of being outsourced, now or anytime in the near future, for pretty much the same reasons as the ECE guys aren't. Mundane jobs do get outsourced, but what they're doing won't. I work for a company that helps other companies outsource and trust me, I know.</p>
<p>I have no problem with the ECE guys making a fair wage, I just see that the numbers favor CS right now. YMMV</p>