[mrdelayer]

First off, a little background info. Come May 25, I will graduate from the Design and Technology Academy, a magnet school in San Antonio, TX, which teaches, well, design and technology. I'm quite interested in programming (hell, I learned BASIC on an Apple //c when I was five, Perl when I was eleven or so [but not on an Apple //c], and it just got worse from there...) and am considering majoring in Computer Science come college time.

I've heard conflicting reports as to whether or not there's any money in this field. And I know, I know, it doesn't matter how much you make as long as you're happy and blah-blah-blah. Well, that's all well and good, but I'd like to be able to have some money.

Should I go ahead with the CS major? Or pick something else?

 

[goldenratiophi]

It's not that there's no money in the field, but there's always the possibility of being outsourced. Probably depends on where you work, though.

 

[SysteX]

Do you live in India? Then there's no money in the field.

Joking aside, I switched from a CS major to an EE major for precisely this reason. I can still take all the CS classes I want, I'll just end up with a degree in EE when all is said and done.

 

[mrdelayer]

I'm considering electrical or computer engineering, also. Decisions, decisions...

 

[SysteX]

Do note, though, that Computer Science and Computer Engineering are two pretty different fields. The former is much more theoretical and the latter deals more with applied electronic circuits and software/hardware integration.

EDIT-- Removed for fear of impending flame war.

 

[mrdelayer]

The way you put it, neither seems all that great. How's electrical engineering working out for you?

 

[mr_baseball_08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SysteX /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do note, though, that Computer Science and Computer Engineering are two pretty different fields. The former is much more theoretical and the latter deals more with applied electronic circuits and software/hardware integration. Typically, CS > CE. Think of CE as Devry, or ITT Technical Institute. *I apologize in advance to all those computer engineering majors that I've insulted horribly

I'm not a computer engineering major (industrial engineering here), but that IS insulting I would think. To the best of my knowledge, Devry and ITT offer technical degrees, which isn't even close to what a computer engineering degree would be. My understanding is they teach things like setting up LAN's, WAN's, and the ilk. Computer Engineering is a mix of CS and EE. There are lots of schools that offer Bachelors, Masters, etc degrees in Computer Engineering specifically, and the computer engineering majors I know say it's a pretty tough curriculum. At least as much, or tougher than computer science.

Anyways, you should be fine either way, and you really need to decide what you want to do before you decide what you want to major in. EE/CE/CS it really matters not at this point, because you'll make a decent living with a degree in any of those programs. I'm currently co-oping at a automotive supplier to Ford, GM, and Chrysler, and starting engineers at my facility make 52K+ a year with plenty of room for growth.

In a nut shell, you'll be set whichever you choose. Would you rather sit at a computer all day and write code, or work on design and implementation of hardware structures (with possibility of some coding)? Pick one and go from there. If it boils down to it, I doubt there are but 15-30 hours difference in the two majors, so you could just double major.

 

[Arainach]

Outsourcing is all the latest news, but all the projections still have Programming jobs at the top of the demand curve in America and they're still the top-paying jobs with only a Bachelor's.

Plus, realize that no amount of money can replace doing something you love for work. A million bucks for being miserable isn't worth it. If you enjoy programming, go for it. I started out as a EE major for fear of lack of CS jobs, but after my first programming course (I hadn't programmed in about 5 years) I remembered how much I loved it, switched back, and haven't regretted it yet.

 

[Gravitas]

I have a CS degree, but I must say CE is much more difficult. Don't know how anyone could relate CE to Devry.

 

[skeeder]

CE is mostly the theory of electricity, things like designing CPU's and that sort of jobs. All theory and testing.

 

[mrdelayer]

Crap. Asking you guys has just made the decision even more complicated, hahaha. I'm also considering electrical engineering with a concentration in signal processing. (Then I can design high-end audio equipment and sell it to you guys! Haha.) What to do, what to do...?

 

[SysteX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdelayer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Crap. Asking you guys has just made the decision even more complicated, hahaha. I'm also considering electrical engineering with a concentration in signal processing. (Then I can design high-end audio equipment and sell it to you guys! Haha.) What to do, what to do...?

Don't decide too early. Take some CS/CE/EE classes before you choose which one you like the best. Don't be afraid to switch your major if at some point you think you picked the wrong one. In the end, it's about which field you like the best, not which field you think you like the best.

 

[mrdelayer]

Making the switch from CE to EE wouldn't be hard, since CE is just a concentration of EE and would have all the same classes up until my fourth year.

However, going from EE to CS or vice versa might prove to be a problem, especially once I get to the end of my second year/beginning of the third and start really getting into the major.

 

[lmilhan]

It is paying my bills quite nicely.

So my answer would be yes.

 

[mrdelayer]

The cool thing about college is you get to pick what you want to learn.

The crappy thing about college is you have to pick what you want to learn.