<p>Which is the best major to start up? Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering or Computer Science?</p>
<p>Could you please tell me differences between those majors?</p>
<p>Electrical engineering is based in the physics of electricity and magnetism (a natural science) and focuses on electrical hardware design. This includes things like circuits, communications, power generation, electromagnetic fields and waves, etc. The analysis of signals and information is also important to the study of a variety of topics.</p>
<p>Computer science is based in logic and mathematics (a formal science) and focuses on the study, design and use of computational processes. This includes theory (algorithms, languages and automata, complexity, etc.), applications (operating systems, networking, AI, graphics, etc.), architecture (assembly language, microprocessor design, hardware’s effect on performance, etc.) and software design (programming, programming languages, software engineering, etc.).</p>
<p>Computer engineering generally combines aspects of both electrical engineering and computer science and focuses on the design - physical, but perhaps mostly logical - of digitial electronic computer systems. Although the requirements for this major probably vary more than they do for CS or EE, generally I’d imagine the emphasis is on circuits and communications from EE and applications and architecture from CS.</p>
<p>As to which is best to pursue: that’s a question that only you can answer. You should do what you have a passion for, though; that being said, CS and CompE majors usually result in the same sort of jobs, I believe, whereas EE leads to distinctly different opportunities. Perhaps someone else can chime in regarding the job prospects across the majors.</p>
<p>To start up? What do you mean?</p>
<p>And to get an overview of engineers, why don’t you try Google? Or here:
[Engineers[/url</a>]
For computer science, Google would also be helpful, or here:
[url=<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos304.htm]Computer”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos304.htm]Computer</a> Scientists](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm]Engineers[/url”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos027.htm)</p>
<p>^ Excellent links! I would point out, though, that most undergraduate CS majors don’t end up working as “computer scientists” (which is the equivalent of “mathematician” or “physicist” in many ways) but as “software engineers” or “computer analysts” or the like:</p>
<p>[Computer</a> Software Engineers and Computer Programmers](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos303.htm]Computer”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos303.htm)
[Computer</a> Network, Systems, and Database Administrators](<a href=“http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos305.htm]Computer”>http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos305.htm)</p>
<p>I’m a little shocked by some of these numbers. Are these reliable?</p>
<p>They are reliable but those aren’t starting salaries if that is what you are surprised by. Those are likely average salaries across the board.</p>
<p>It wasn’t so much the salaries, but the sheer number of CS/Software/IT jobs compared to EE (or to all “engineers” combined!) and the high growth rate. I mean, is this nuts?</p>
<p>Software Engineers & Programmers
2008: 1,336,300
2018: 1,619,300</p>
<p>Network, Systems, DB Admins:
2008: 961,200
2018: 1,247,800</p>
<p>Engineers (All of the ones they list!)
2008: 1,571,900
2018: 1,750,300</p>
<p>Ratio of SwE/Programming/Comp. Admin jobs to all Engineering Jobs:
2008: 1.46
2018: 1.64</p>
<p>I feel really naive now. I guess I always thought that there would be about as many CS/SwE/etc. jobs as there were of any other kind of engineering. Does anybody know how many students are graduating from CS/SwE/etc. programs compared to the number of engineering graduates? I feel like the class size at a lot of universities doesn’t accurately reflect the skew that the BLS OOH is reporting.</p>
<p>For instance, at Georgia Tech, there are almost 9x as many “engineering” students as there are “computing” students ([Undergraduate</a> Enrollment by College/Ethnicity/Gender | Georgia Tech Factbook](<a href=“http://factbook.gatech.edu/content/undergraduate-enrollment-collegeethnicitygender]Undergraduate”>http://factbook.gatech.edu/content/undergraduate-enrollment-collegeethnicitygender)), and at Stanford it’s almost 5x (or 3x-4x, depending on how you group them) ([Office</a> of the University Registrar - School of Engineering Total Matriculated Registration | Student Affairs](<a href=“http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/registrar/everyone/enrollment-engineer_09-10]Office”>http://studentaffairs.stanford.edu/registrar/everyone/enrollment-engineer_09-10)).</p>
<p>Can anybody shed some light on this situation?</p>
<p>Keep in mind you don’t need a CS degree or any 4 year degree to get some of those jobs like network administrator. Not all of these positions in those IT fields require the 4-year degree, while all of those engineering positions do.</p>
<p>^ Are you saying that accounts for the difference in the number of CS students per job versus the number of engineering students per job? Even if there are only twice as many engineering students as CS students nationally, something like 65% of jobs would have to be going to non-degreed candidates for the competition to be <em>equal</em>. Do 65% of CS/SwE/IT jobs go to non-degreed (versus degreed?) candidates? That’s hard to swallow.</p>
<p>I wonder whether the fact that non-degreed candidates get these jobs at all is a symptom of there simply being so few CS students? I mean, with so many jobs and so (relatively) few students, maybe employers have no choice but to accept less qualified applicants?</p>
<p>Let me throw this out there…</p>
<p>In many CS programs, courses in networks and databases are optional courses, so you end up with a lot of CS grads (even talented) who cannot/will not grasp database and/or network knowledge. I work with a team of Java developers and it amazes me how they are so naive to database concepts. I am not amazed in a negative way though. I have learned that it takes certain folks to actually get into/like data modeling, data architecture and database administration.</p>
<p>It’s maybe why most DBA’s and Data Architects are old geezers like myself.</p>
<p>By the way…having said what I said…</p>
<p>It is still good to have some engineering degree of some sort under your belt. Once you start working for these defense companies, you will see that they still favor promoting folks with an E-N-G-I-N-E-E-R-I-N-G degree than an IT/IS major. That alone was a factor in myself going for a graduate engineering degree (after having an undergraduate Math/CS degree).</p>
<p>^ Well yeah, but I don’t see how that addresses my surprise. Certainly a MechE or ChemE will be less qualified for a CS/SwE/IT job than a CS major? I guess the answer to my question is that there is no reason it’s like this; CS students will face less competition for CS/SwE/IT than for engineering majors for engineering jobs, and it is what it is.</p>
<p>Sorry to hijack the thread, but the employment figures blew my mind. I guess, in light of this, do what you have a passion for - but if you’re choosing arbitrarily from the three, I’d do CS…</p>
<p>I am concurring with the CS route over electrical. Many of my friends are getting jobs in software, and many of the job postings at GT are for software jobs. Don’t be like me and pick an area that involves working for one of about 5 companies in the world with enough capital to support the work I like to do :D</p>
<p>I’m only doing a minor in CS and it practically requires courses in databases and networks.</p>