Computer Science vs Computer Engineering

I have decided that I am going to get out of the navy in August 2010, and roll straight into the fall term at University of Washington. I am trying to decide which route is better and/or if it even matters. Here is the link to both degree plans:

Computer Engineering: http://cs.washington.edu/education/ugrad/current/New_CE_reqs.pdf

Computer Science:
http://cs.washington.edu/education/ugrad/current/New_CS_reqs.pdf

Thoughts?

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Comments

UnixGeek

Which program has courses that interest you more? That's how I would decide between those two.

For most fields, either would be equally respected IMO. You'd probably emerge from the CS program a stronger programmer, and from the CE program stronger on the EE side of things.

Hallucinate

I am interested in both. I was trying to determine which is more marketable. I am kind of leaning a bit towards the engineering. When looking at both courses, it seems as if the computer science degree has more general courses and the engineering is more structured. It just makes me a bit uncomfortable because I really don't have any experience with some of those hardware specialization courses.

astorrs

Look at it from this perspective then...

"What is your dream job?"

(keeping within the expected outcomes of either CS or CE/EE of course)

carboncopy

I would say Computer Science is more marketable. Reason why is because every time I see a job opening, they are always listing Computer Science first. I hardly see CE. I am sure that it doesn't matter though when it comes down to it.

the_Grinch

If you are looking to do information security then I would stick to CS. Not that you can't do it with a CE degree, but I see far more Masters in Information Security looking for people with a CS/IS/IT background.

UnixGuy

I chose computer engineering because it was more challenging. I didn't affect my choice of job...you can get any job in IT even without degree.

It comes to personal choice

jryantech

Computer Engineering. Hands down.

dynamik

jryantech wrote: »

Computer Engineering. Hands down.

Based on what?

It totally depends on what you want to do. Why don't you track down a few people with each type of degree and learn about their day-to-day activities. I would imagine that positions between the two could be very similar or vastly different depending on the path they take. CSci seems to complement IT better, but that may not be what you ultimately want to be doing.

UnixGeek

There's a lot of overlap, so if you're starting either degree program from the beginning, you could make an effort to sign up for the classes that are common to both programs, or at the very least would qualify as electives as long as possible. You'll probably have a better feel for what interests you once you've gotten yourself part way through the program.

jediknight

Hallucinate wrote: »

I am interested in both. I was trying to determine which is more marketable. I am kind of leaning a bit towards the engineering. When looking at both courses, it seems as if the computer science degree has more general courses and the engineering is more structured. It just makes me a bit uncomfortable because I really don't have any experience with some of those hardware specialization courses.

I work for a company that employs both and can give you feedback that was given to me when I raised this question about my own education path focusing on a degree.

What is comes down to basically is what do you want to focus your career on? If you are looking to have an IT career, then a CE degree is not only overkill, but you will never come remotely close to using everything you've learned in school. A CS degree on the other hand would not only be much easier to obtain IMO, but you will at least be able to use pretty close to everything you've learned in school. You will have the same chance of getting a IT job with either degree as IT job postings usually will say CS or CE/EE and never have I seen one that only requested only CE/EE

Now lets talk what happens after you obtain your degree. Say you obtain your CE degree, it is generally assumed that you are going into some field of engineering (computer, electrical) mainly focused on designing of hardware or circuits ect... take a look at the job postings of big engineering company's and what your day to day job would be, it's about as far from IT as you would get.

If you obtained a CS degree you have a stronger focus on Software Development/Engineering. You mainly are going to be writing and dealing with software, but you could also be doing a good majority of IT jobs as well. Many IT jobs ask for a CS degree, but you'll be more along the lines of Sys Admin or Programmer with Sys Admin duties ect...

Nowadays more and more jobs are accepting CS/CE or EE degrees. Each of these are equally respected specializations. Go with the one you will utilize more. You don't want to be in the situation of having a CE degree working IT or some other job away from what you obtain your degree in to come back 5-6 years later wanting to pursue the engineering path again. You will have a hard time getting a job. Look at some job descriptions then make your decision. Don't think about what is going to be more marketable or looks better. Each of these degrees are equally respected and very employable.

Hallucinate

Thanks for all the replies everyone.

It seems to me like the general consensus is both are marketable and it depends on what I want to do. Currently, I really would like to jump into pen testing, which when thinking about the two degrees I am sure most would agree computer science is the one to go with. My thing is though, after looking at both degree links that I pasted in the OP it seems like the major difference between the two is the computer science has more general courses while the engineering has hardware courses.

It also seems to me like the engineering degree would be more challanging. If that's the case, I am more than fine with it. I just want to be as knowledgable as possible overall. I am still siding with the engineering degree...

shednik

From my experience CE is generally geared more towards EE and computer hardware type courses.

While CS is much more theory based, teaches you abstract theories and computations. My personal choice would be CS since it interests me more, my masters however is a mix of the above with a networking concentration. So I'd say go for CS you can branch out to pretty much anything in IT from there.

Slowhand

It looks like you're in the same boat that I am, doing a computer science degree versus doing a more electrical engineering focus. The computer engineering focus looks very interesting to me, but that's because I'm more of a general science geek than just software and computer geek, but that's me.

What interests you more: computer science, focusing on software development; or computer engineering, which seems to include a lot more EE classes?

Hallucinate

I just dont know. It's a tough one. I found this:

"What is the difference between Computer Science and Computer Engineering?
In our department, the difference between these majors is really just which courses are required. CS is a major within the UW's College of Arts and Sciences, so it has broader liberal-arts general education requirements and more flexible upper-division requirements. Computer Engineering is a major within the UW's College of Engineering, so it's requirements are more focused and include Technical Communication and either a Hardware or Software specialization.
Prerequisites differ slightly, but the application and admissions standards are the same for both majors. Admitted students can switch their major with the department easily. Students in both majors have access to nearly all the same departmental and UW resources. "

eltoro

UnixGuy wrote: »

I chose computer engineering because it was more challenging. I didn't affect my choice of job...you can get any job in IT even without degree.

It comes to personal choice

Hmm.. It depends on several factors..CS encompasses a whole range of fields including computer architecture which in most cases is considered computer engineering. It is hard to tell which one is more challenging. Theoretical computer science is very hard, after all it is all about complexity theories.

UnixGuy

eltoro wrote: »

Hmm.. It depends on several factors..CS encompasses a whole range of fields including computer architecture which in most cases is considered computer engineering. It is hard to tell which one is more challenging. Theoretical computer science is very hard, after all it is all about complexity theories.

That's true, and in some universities CS is part of EE ! But generally speaking, in CE you will find more EE courses (which are very challenging), while in CS you should have more Programming classes. Where I studied CE was way more broad than CS that's why I chose it.

My idea is, it shouldn't affect the choice of job much, because people get IT jobs without degrees!