<p>Very simple question: why are these two fields so popular among engineering majors? I think it’s fair to group them since they have enough overlap to merge.
They are disproportionately represented in this board, and there is a large number of them according to BLS. What makes the two fields as popular as they are?
Not saying there’s anything wrong with it, just curious. I personally found that it’s an annoyingly dull field, but I’d like a few people to shed some light on why they enjoy it/think it’s popular.</p>
<p>Speaking only for computer science… the essence of CS is the study of problems and problem-solving. If you like solving problems (and not everybody does, and that’s OK) I challenge anybody to name another engineering or scientific discipline that addresses problems and problem-solving on a more fundamental level.</p>
<p>Generally speaking, I think that EE/CS people might be (a) more inclined to be active in online chat rooms and discussion boards, since they may be generally more tech-savvy; (b) more in demand, as suggested by the US BLS OOH report published recently. Why do you think EE/CS is dull? I wouldn’t like or be particularly interested in chemical engineering… but I can understand plenty of people find something about it interesting enough to study. Different strokes.</p>
<p>EE/CS is pretty big on BLS, so I’d seriously doubt that it’s just that they’re more popular on here. It might be a factor, but not the biggest one.
I think EE and CS are dull because I’ve taken a few classes(CompSci) and done related work (robotics). While I found it utterly miserable, I could very clearly see that there were a few people for whom this kind of work was a perfect fit.
I can see very clearly why people are not drawn to ChemE. Very few people actually enjoy chemistry to the extent that I did, and being comfortable with the chemistry mentality is pretty much a prerequisite to deal with engineering chemistry problems.
So while I see why ChemE is not so popular, I don’t see why EE/CS are so popular with more than just a small base of people with a natural EE mindset. My first guess would be money, but I’m curious what people see in the field.
Spending hours figuring out why a computer is uncooperative is a form of problem-solving I suppose. Not sure why there are so many masochists around though.</p>
<p>CS isn’t just “figuring out why a computer is uncooperative”. If that’s all your classes did, you ought to file a complaint. :</p>
<p>Personally, I’m in CS because I do love the problem solving and logic. I also like that it’s more like math than science. In sciences, you can learn dozens of equations and only be able to solve three types of problems. In maths or CS, a couple concepts lets you do probably a thousand things. It’s also nice to have instant feedback on problems, either it works or it doesn’t, and finding creative solutions when it doesn’t work is a ton of fun. Well, usually. :P</p>
<p>From a more general perspective, could be related to people playing video games and wanting to make them for a living or something. I know that’s not the case for every CS major, but it seems like a starting point for quite a few.</p>
<p>I suppose math-like logic and the low liability (program fails =/= people die or money is lost) has its own appeal. So does the type of job.
Yet it doesn’t seem like it should be enough to, on its own, garner as much popularity as it has. Anyone else have a different perspective, perhaps that of a classmate?</p>
<p>A lot of people group EE and CS together, but I actually prefer EE much more than CS. I consider EE to have 2 groups within it. The first half is the computer engineering/comp sci part of it, which deals with hardware and driver-level programming, computer architecture, discrete math, etc. The second part, which is the part I am more interested in, is the physics/math side of it, which encompasses E+M fields and waves, signal processing, etc.</p>
<p>I assume many people picked between EE/CpE/CS for majors since they are all pretty similar. On the other hand, my choice was between ME and EE, since I wanted to major in an engineering discipline. I like being able to know how to create a product from design to finish, and the more practical education an engineering degree offers while still teaching you a lot of theory. I picked EE over ME because of my knowledge of computers (I work part time at an IT center fixing computers), the more math (arguably) it has, and the fact that electronics are everywhere and will be a prominent part of the future.
I’m currently a double major in EE and Physics with a minor in math, and hope to work in a field involving solid state electronics, e+m fields/waves, signal analysis, etc. I don’t mind programming and I’m decent at it, and I know I will definitely need it in my jobs later on, but being solely a programmer doesn’t interest me too much. I agree that CS teaches you how to think very well, more so than pretty much any other major except maybe math (proofs) but engineering lets me move away from the computer and physically create my ideas.</p>
<p>EE/CpE/CS are all sides of the same coin. But my question is, what makes the field as attractive as it is? I don’t see “applied math” as a good enough reason for it to be as popular as it is. While I do like and do well at math and programming, I’ve witnessed very often how utterly frustrating they get as you deal with some of the more difficult problems. Some people might not mind, but I don’t see how these things alone are enough to make the field as popular as it is among engineering majors.
Is it the potential for success in Silicon Valley? That must play some role.</p>