Kalookakoo

I'm afraid that doing CpE alone even with some CS electives will not qualify me for jobs later down the road if I choose a more software route since CpE deals more with hardware. So would EECS be a better option?

fatpig554

It doesn't make a difference.
Many people who work in software don't even have engineering degrees.

However, I would advise you to figure out WHAT you want to learn, and then pick a major/school/department accordingly. Don't worry about jobs...yet!

Kalookakoo

I want a strong enough background in both software and hardware to be able to enter either field upon graduating, seeing as I have no personal favorite between the two. My schools and such I have chosen already and all have majors/program that I like and can utilize.

Worry is my middle name.

jwxie

Absolutely not.
Computer science is meant for pure computational. But since it's straightforward - with little or no hardware talk (there is) , it's the ideal path to become a software engineer today.

The purpose of CpE is to fulfill the torn decision between CS and EE.

Please compare them
CS:
http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospectiv...g10-010810.pdf

CpE
http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospectiv...g10-010810.pdf

Note that CpE and CS take almost all 1000+ to 3000+ classes together - with a few exceptions that CpE do not take. (But you can choose them as CS Electives)

That said that CpE takes as many CS classes as the CS major does.

IMO CpE is way better than CS or EE since you embed both fields into a single major - except CpE isn't qualify to do advance EE jobs yet. I'd like to describe CpE as a concentration of CS and EE.
You should always consider this as the ideal undergraduate degree to both fields. If you decide to go into the software, or the hardware industry, you should consider doing a graduate program in either CS, or EE. I think for CS a graduate degree is needed when your work involves something that is beyond the ability of yours.

http://www1.ccny.cuny.edu/prospectiv...Curriculum.pdf

If you look at the EE's, by the time you reach junior year you can build your concentration but CpE don't get to build concentration at all.

CpE works at the levels of computer (note computer is a very general word - it means any digital system that does something meaningful), whereas the EE - at any level of electrical system - but you would need a graduate degree to do more advance stuff, obviously.


Word of caution: because CpE takes EE and CS courses simultaneously - it's consider the most difficult major among the engineering studies.

I am asking for more inputs into this thread - so we can include this in the FAQ by providing a link.

roderick

I just happened upon this thread after searching how to embed url in this forum (search terms= embed url ! But this is a topic that I am interested in. My hs sr son is considering to which colleges to apply right now and some of them , the engineering schools, pretty much *require* the hs student to KNOW what the heck he or she wants to do and commit at application time - else there seems to be a tortured route to the same. Son is interested in engineering , computers, computer engineering, computer science, software, software engineering, accounting, all the above.

Here is a question to jw: what does cpE stand for? CS is obviously computer science. is this advantageous amalgam found ONLY at CUNY?

jwxie

Computer engineering.
No the name CpE is widely used in the forum to distinguish Computer Engineering and Civil Engineering (CE).
CpE usually does things related to the computers that we use. But it is definitely a wrong assumption to say that CpE only works on the computers that we generally use.
CpE and EE can works as tiny as CPU development, to as large as satellites. But when I attended job fairs last year most of them are computer-related. It really depends on your experience and your expertises.

I am a sophomore btw. So insight about the industry I can be very wrong.

It makes more sense when you look at CpE (oh Cp - computer).

If you are talking about those stupid college essay topics: "What do you see yourself in 5 years?"
LOL I would say just make it true.

Well beyond the college essay your son should always take all advantages while at college - hang out, approach to professors, attend club fairs, join a club or two. There your son will learn a lot more about the real world - and not just book knowledge. Another option is hang out here in CC. Haha.

Kyt

Computer hardware and software are such diverse fields that getting a job can difficult if you're simply a generalist. Some concentrations overlap both hardware and software, but to generalize that you want to be able to go into any sub-field in hardware and software is extremely difficult.

Under software (in my opinion), there are: massively distributive systems, desktop applications, graphics, AI/robotics, systems programming, and embedded systems.

Under hardware (in my opinion), there are: computer architecture, VLSI, mix signals, radio frequency, and embedded systems.

While there are overlap between many different fields, each field is also very deep. I would say pick a few that you're interested in and become as knowledgeable as you can in those few.

TomServo

Actually CSE (computer science and engineering) splits the difference between compE and CS. Some engineering schools offer it, some don't. It's an ABET-accredited major. It covers the relevant CompE material with none of the non-digital EE stuff, and adds a substantial amount of CS (languages, theory, etc.).

ekb242

Also, the division between the two majors varies from school to school. I'm a CompE at Georgia Tech, and here it's primarily EE classes with CS electives, plus some classes on microprocessors. But CS is its own college at the institute, whereas we have the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) under the College of Engineering. So you'd want to look into how it divides at the colleges you're looking at!

GLOBALTRAVELER

Information technology (I.T.) is the study, design, development, application, implementation, support or management of computer-based information systems, particularly software applications and computer hardware. I.T. deals with the use of electronic computers and computer software to securely convert, store, protect, process, transmit, input, output, and retrieve information.

I want you all to look at that LAST line again: securely convert, store, protect, process, transmit, input, output, and retrieve INFORMATION.

Securely convert data ==> Encryption...which may relate to some cyber-related jobs
Store data ==> Where do you store data?....a database
Protect ==> If you are protecting data, that means you are securing it ==> Network Security
Process ==> This is the act of taking data and turning it into information
Transmit ==> How do you transmit data?....via a network
Input, Output, Retrieve information ==> Java/C++ based applications and Databases conduct Input, Output and Retrieval

Front-end languages like Java/C++ and databases must run over an operating system.

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Software Engineering is a structured METHODOLOGY to produce software. It consists of the following approach (pretty much adapted from systems engineering).

Analysis-->Design-->Development-->Test-->Implementation-->Sustainment

A full-functioning software deliverable may have C++ components, Java components, operating system components, network software components and database components.

A software engineer is someone who is involved somewhere in those 6 steps I mentioned doing one or more of those steps and/or using one of the components I mentioned.

Therefore take your CS or I.T. or SoftE program with your intended interests and wherever the employer places you, that will be your job.

Besides, "software engineer" is just a title. You could easily be called "software developer", "object-oriented developer", "systems admin", "network admin", "network engineer", "data architect", "database developer" and "DBA" still be considered a software engineer in some capacity.
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Computer science is the study of the THEORETICAL foundations of information and computation, and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems. It is frequently described as the systematic study of ALGORITHMIC processes that create, describe, and transform information. Computer science has many sub-fields; some, such as computer graphics, emphasize the computation of specific results, while others, such as computational complexity theory, study the properties of computational problems. Still others focus on the challenges in implementing computations. For example, PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE THEORY studies approaches to describe computations, while computer programming applies specific programming languages to solve specific computational problems, and human-computer interaction focuses on the challenges in making computers and computations useful, usable, and universally accessible to people.

The general public sometimes CONFUSES computer science with careers that deal with computers (such as information technology), or think that it relates to their own experience of computers, which typically involves activities such as gaming, web-browsing, and word-processing. However, the focus of computer science is more on understanding the properties of the programs used to implement software such as games and web-browsers, and using that understanding to create new programs or improve existing ones.
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Out of the words that I have in capital letters, notice I have: ALGORITHMIC and PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE THEORY. Those two areas are part of the FOUR CORE AREAS of CS...with the other two being Data Structures and Operating Systems. Now even in the description of Computer Science it is mentioned that CS is the systematic study of ALGORITHMIC processes that create, describe, and transform information. Doesn't that "create, describe, and transform information" sound familiar? Yes, that is some of the components of I.T. so CS CAN PREPARE YOU FOR I.T.

A Computer Scientist or one who works in I.T. can produce software. Software engineering is just a STRUCTURED PROCESS to develop and produce the software.

Now that we have this out of the way, I would propose the question of "What is CS/SoftE/I.T.?" to be placed in the ice-cream category.

Your Welcome,

Global

BCEagle91

Well, that was pretty well done except for the second to last statement. For a moment, I thought Homer28 wrote it. I do think that someone going into college would have a few problems understanding what you wrote. It can be hard to understand what a functional spec is without seeing one and tearing it apart in an educational setting.

I think that the OP should look into EECS if he wants the flexibility to go into both.

GLOBALTRAVELER

A Computer Scientist CAN produce software...so can someone in I.T.

More than likely the "scientist" is producing software more for R&D or as a prototype.

BCEagle91

I meant Your (You're) Welcome.

GLOBALTRAVELER

Oh...lol...I was a little irked over the number of similar CS vs. SoftE vs. I.T. threads.

.....and another was just created less than 3 minutes ago.

aStyle

well, that huge explanation should be stickied and added on to create a comprehensive *general* explanation. Since engineering often overlaps I used general.