Which route should I take for Software Engineering?

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Hi, there are many ways someone can get a degree become a software engineering. Which one is the best for me?</p>

<p>BS in Computer science and MS in Software Engineering</p>

<p>BS in Computer Science with a concentration in software engineering</p>

<p>BS in Software engineering</p>

<p>BS in Computer Science and Computer engineering</p>

<p>or simply just BS in Computer Science </p>

<p>or if you have another suggestion</p>

<p>Personally I want a degree that can take me not just in software engineering but hopefully a systems analyst if I don't like or get fired from Software engineering</p>

2

<p>I'm not sure how to answer this question, since it's not like we know anything about you.</p>

<p>Software engineering is still an uncommon degree.</p>

3

<p>I can't help you but I am confused about all this as well. My D seems interested in studying Computer Science or Computer Engineering or Electrical Engineering. I thought the difference between those was that CS is writing software and the engineering side is dealing with the hardware/equipment. Then between CE and EE I understood that EE could pertain to things other than computers such as traffic lights. If I am correct about these very basic distinctions (and I may not be) then where does "software engineering" fit in? How would that be different from CS?</p>

4

<p>
[quote]
If I am correct about these very basic distinctions (and I may not be) then where does "software engineering" fit in? How would that be different from CS?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You're on the right track, but not quite there.</p>

<p>Computer science is the study of information and computation, and the systems that process and perform them. It has many subfields, including (this is a small sample, very far from complete) algorithms, computer architecture, cryptography, programming language theory, artificial intelligence, networking, and computer graphics.</p>

<p>Software engineering is one of the fields within computer science. It is the study and practice of designing, writing, testing, documenting, and maintaining software. It is much like other forms of engineering, except working with a different material (one that, due to its nature, the engineer can work directly with, instead of needing manufacturers to implement his/her designs). At most schools, it is taught within the computer science curriculum. At a few, it is its own degree.</p>

<p>I work as a software engineer (though some of my job is more straight-up CS these days). My company specializes in applications of AI, so I combine software engineering itself with more "science-y" topics like machine learning and machine vision.</p>

<p>Electrical engineering is the study and practice of designing and otherwise engineering electric and electromagnetic systems. So yes, "hardware" is generally correct; however there are EEs who do not do hardware work (e.g. someone who studies information theory for data compression). Fields within electrical engineering include power engineering, signal processing, telecommunications, and control engineering, among others.</p>

<p>Computer engineering is a field within EE. It deals with the design of computers and computer systems, and the integration of hardware and software.</p>

<p>Since the lines are fuzzy in some cases, different programs will assign certain topics to different departments. For example, computer vision could be either CompE (because it involves signal processing by imaging systems) or CS (because it involves the study of the algorithms and data structures that make machine perception possible).</p>

<p>I hope that was helpful. :)</p>

5

<p>There's a very detailed presentation on the various majors (Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Information Technology, and Software Engineering) at:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.acm.org/education/education/curric_vols/CC2005-March06Final.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.acm.org/education/education/curric_vols/CC2005-March06Final.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

6

<p>My kid is considering the same field, as best I understand (my understanding is very limited). A degree in informatics has been suggested, although I think it's only offered at a few universities - UC Irvine, U of Washington, & U of Illinois - as a major. Do any of you who comprehend this field know if informatics is "software engineering," and probably more importantly, is it a useful and employable degree?</p>

7

<p>I had a look at the Informatics Degree from Indiana and from what I can tell, it's kind of an interdisciplinary degree. It feels more like an IS (information systems) degree than a CS degree and it emphasizes where computing can meet other disciplines. I recall talking to a Dean about a bioinformatics degree a few years ago and I just came away with a combination of CS and Biology courses as the main focus.</p>

<p>The chance that you take with a novel degree is that employers may not understand what the degree is. A job posting may state that a CS, EE or CE degree is required and submitting a resume with an informatics degree may get your resume kicked out just by the first-round screen process whether automated or done by a person.</p>

<p>The traditional CS degree is more math and theory oriented than what I saw at Indiana.</p>

8

<p>I don't know about the other schools, but the first hit that I got when I Googled was UC Irvine, and looking at the page, informatics is a department encompassing various CS and CompE-related degree programs, not a degree program itself.</p>

<p>Informatics can be synonymous with CS, or it can be more of an information systems degree. It depends on the school. "Bioinformatics" is usually synonymous with computational biology, or close to it (and employers who do work in the area of comp bio will know what it is).</p>

9

<p>The UC Irvine program looked closer a Software Engineering or Information Systems degree than a CS degree. I didn't see any hardware courses in the requirements.</p>

<p>I spoke with someone at Genzyme a few years ago and they were familiar with bioinformatics but it seems that a degree in the field can be somewhat limiting. The job universe for CS majors seems to be a lot bigger and getting a CS degree with a minor in biology would seem to be a more marketable approach.</p>

10

<p>Thanks for providing the information on the different majors. We are planning a visit to Carnegie-Mellon in a few weeks and now I won't be so confused about all the different programs they offer. Thanks again.</p>

11

<p>I appreciate the info and research - I'll pass it on, for what it's worth.</p>