*Disclaimer: Long ago, I posted on this forum from another account about the topic below, and was met with many discouraging and off-topic remarks. Please keep it positive but informative and on topic. If not I will just delete the thread.*
I am an American from Louisiana, and a senior in high school. This week I am applying to the university I really want to go to (Louisiana Tech University). They are a reputable university and have great engineering programs, arguably the best in my state. I am not going out of state, due to the fact that I am getting 100% tuition + $800/semester from a state scholarship. I also qualify for top-tier academic scholarships from the university itself (surprisingly a 29 ACT and 3.5 GPA makes you a top-notch recruit here in LA :/ our education system is terrible but I'm ranting).
However here is where I'm stuck. I don't know whether I want to major in Computer Science or Electrical Engineering. I can say that I honestly have a 50/50 interest in these two majors. However I feel like I should get advice from people with experience (I know there have to be many here). I've heard that being a programmer is really stressful but honestly that is not where I would be going anyway. I'm more interested in something like a sys/network admin. However I watch EEVblog and think about how fun it would be to work on and design circuits for a living. I think I've gotten my point across well enough so I'll stop here. Obviously I'm not bound to be an English major, I can't even write up a good forum post lol.
EE, I just hope your math skills are up to snuff. Getting a degree in engineering opens up a lot of doors. You could probably even do a minor in compsci or compeng with a major in EE.
FYI you will be doing some programming as an EE as well. There is no getting around it as an engineer in college these days.
It's just that I know alot of people that have gotten degrees in IT and find getting a job in the field is more difficult than they thought ... whereas skilled engineers are always in demand.
Secondly ... we need more engineers working on the next breakthrough technologies ... we are rapidly approaching the proverbial brick wall in current CPU architectures for example and need fresh, skilled minds to overcome the limits of current tech.
But ... like mentioned in another post ... you better have a serious aptitude for math either way you go.
I'm capable when it comes to math but it for sure doesn't come naturally like other subjects. I'm just going to actually have to give those classes my full attention I guess lol.
Also not sure if you read my entire OP but I didn't think that sys/network admin jobs involved much programming. Unless of course I'm just wrong.
Well I recently read an article on Ars about that. Companies claim there is a shortage of IT people, when in fact there isn't. Corporations just don't appreciate IT and don't offer what people with a 4 year degree deserve for those positions. So they have a hard time getting IT guys to work for the shit pay that they offer.
Hello fellow Louisianian, I have been told so many times by professors in the Computer Science program at ULL that too many of there students that are into the programming side of things seriously lack hardware knowledge. And It does seem easier to find work in hardware than software. However I have found more personal success in learning as much about both sides as i can. I'd say major in Electrical Engineering, but study software and at least 1 programming language on the side - especially if you ever want to get into making devices with Arduino or RasPi. I have a background in small electronics repair from the navy and just PC knowledge I picked up being an enthusiast, and this landed me an IT Admin/Helpdesk job at a Insurance Investigation Corp. I don't know everything i need to know yet, but it was enough to get me in an enterprise environment so i can learn it hands on.
You don't have to be a genius to make good grades as an engineer, but you will have to work much harder than all of your friends in a non STEM major. You also won't be able to cram the night before an exam and expect to get good grades on a consistent basis in your core classes. As long as you keep up with the material, and more importantly strengthen your weaknesses as they are taught in class you will be fine. This means if you are learning integration by parts and find it confusing, don't wait until the week before the exam to try and master it, do however many sample problems you need, and meet up/study with whoever you need to do correct any deficiencies as the subject is introduced. If you do this you will be ahead of almost all of your classmates. You don't get a good GPA for being smart or a natural, you get a good GPA for hard work.
Well duh, we learn about software not hardware. Granted a lot of us do know about hardware, plus its fairly easy to find a job in CS compared to say IT or other things. No idea how it compares to EE though. Go with which one you think would be most fun though, OP.
In addition to what has already been said, make sure you pick a major that you're absolutely certain you want to study, and then stick with it. Otherwise you're going to end up wasting a lot of time and money. I have first-hand experience in this, and it's most definitely my single largest regret in life.
I started out seeking a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. My plans were to attend medical school and become an anesthesiologist. I spent a year at ECU only to find out half-way through the semester that my uncle passed away. I entered a state of depression and failed half of my classes. At that point, I decided to switch majors and wasted nearly two years studying IT courses at a local community college.
Now, I'm back at square one trying to decide whether or not I want to continue with the IT/programming courses or try my luck at Chemistry again.
I'd stick with computer science and go Linux/scripting/networking/ and server + hardware heavy.
Out here in Ireland we got data centres popping up everywhere (I'll assume the sames happening in the US) and those are the main areas they look for in new guys , data centre work pays well depending on what you specialize in and its a secure job because no company is going to uproot a data centre on a whim well at least that's implied they wouldn't.
I'd stick with computer science and go Linux/scripting/networking/ and server + hardware heavy.
Out here in Ireland we got data centres popping up everywhere (I'll assume the sames happening in the US) and those are the main areas they look for in new guys , data centre work pays well depending on what you specialize in and its a secure job because no company is going to uproot a data centre on a whim well at least that's implied they wouldn't.
I personally had a very similar issue deciding between CS and Computer Engineering. In the end I went with the compromise and am now double majoring. I'm not sure if this is an option you would consider, but I thought I would bring it up.
Also, I'm not sure how similar the programs are there. Where I'm at, the CEE people get a mix of both CS and EE, so I'm looking at 4.5-5 years for both of them. If you are interested, I would try talking with the program directors. They may be willing to swap some classes or something to get it to work for you.
Suppose it depends on the University's course structure - CS degree where Im at has units in hardware architecture, basic networking hardware etc, then databases, operating systems programming, + loads of other coding units. Quite well rounded really.
OP if you change your mind halfway and dont like what you've chosen just switch majors.