Is a Computer Engineering degree worth crap?

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Tommy2000GT

Golden Member
Jun 19, 2000
1,832
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81
I was browising through the job listing at monster.com and hotjobs.com. Most of the IT jobs require a BS in Computer Science. I hardly found any jobs that needed a Computer
Engineering degree. I'm a freshman in Computer Engineering right now and I'm strongly considering changing my major to Computer Science. I want to do Unix/Linux sys admin and I think this is the best way to go.
 
L

LAUST

Diamond Member
Sep 13, 2000
8,957
1
81
I have seen some of the guy's where I am at now they have CIS degrees instead.
 
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Isla

Elite member
Sep 12, 2000
7,749
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I dunno. Mr Isla got his in EE and he doesn't really use it. It just depends on how badly you want to suffer through your classes. :)

edit: oops, i forgot to say he was working towards a second degree in CE but never finished. He certainly hasn't had any trouble finding work... I guess it just depends on what you want to do and the market you are looking in.
 
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sciencewhiz

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2000
5,885
8
81
A computer engineering degree is worth much more than crap, but not for what you want to do. To get a job in IT, you definetly do not want a degree in Computer Engineering. Computer Science is also probably not the degree that you want either.

What you want is a degree along the lines of Computer Information Systems or something like that. Different colleges call it different things. The best bet is to talk to your counselor at you college and tell him/her what you want to do, and he/she will recommend the right major.
 
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nd

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
1,690
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Computer Engineering is a very useful and interesting degree. Most Computer Engineers are proficient in programming, and also have a lot of hardware/EE knowledge that's important in the engineering fields (where programming alone isn't enough).

If anything like device drivers, microcontroller programming, test & measurement engineering, or programming to control hardware interests you Computer Engineering is great.

Me? I'm going into Computer Engineering... I've already been programming for several years so getting a CS degree would only make me a programmer on paper. Computer Engineering earns a lot more respect in my opinion, but maybe that's just me :)
 
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LocutusX

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
3,061
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I go to Canada's #1 CS/CE university (or so we like to think) and I can tell you that CompSci, as far as the job industry goes, is practically a subset of CompEng. I haven't yet met a CompEng who can't do a "CS" job. But there are many CS grads who wouldn't be able to get a CompEng job, because they don't have the necessary Engineering/Hardware background. Most CS curriculums are full of a lot of useless theoretical garbage which may be useful in getting a better understanding of the Computer Science paradigm, but help very little in the real world. Whereas CompEng is practically tailored exactly - or rather, engineered to the specifications of - the industry.

Also, I think at almost every university in this country, it is always harder to get into CompEng than CompSci. If CompSci requires an 85, CompEng requires a 92. Or something like that. Although that is probably more a function of CompSci being a part of the Liberal Arts & Sciences whereas CompEng is part of the more vigourous and restricted Engineering curriculum. Mind you, at some Universities (Cornell comes to mind), CompSci is in the school of engineering as well.
 
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mAdD INDIAN

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
7,804
1
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LocutusX: What university do you goto? Waterloo?? I'm thinking of going there for Comp Eng.
 
Aikouka

Aikouka

Lifer
Nov 27, 2001
30,383
912
126
sciencewhiz said:
A computer engineering degree is worth much more than crap, but not for what you want to do. To get a job in IT, you definetly do not want a degree in Computer Engineering. Computer Science is also probably not the degree that you want either.

What you want is a degree along the lines of Computer Information Systems or something like that. Different colleges call it different things. The best bet is to talk to your counselor at you college and tell him/her what you want to do, and he/she will recommend the right major.
Click to expand...

Yep. To sum it up, you're in the wrong major, Tommy boy!
 
veri745

veri745

Golden Member
Oct 11, 2007
1,163
4
81
Almost any job that requires a degree in "Computer Science" with also say "or related field". From my experience (with a degree in CmpE) CmpE falls into the "related field" category.

The opposite tends not to be true.
 
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Tim_Derr

Senior member
Mar 23, 2011
405
1,181
136
Farang said:
you tell me brah
Click to expand...

you like to party?
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=29974&highlight=

ted-10.jpg
 
vshah

vshah

Lifer
Sep 20, 2003
19,003
24
81
if you want to do system administration, computer engineering / computer science are not for you. look into information systems type degrees.
 
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Bryf50

Golden Member
Nov 11, 2006
1,429
51
91
In my school Computer Engineering was identical to EE save for like 3-4 programming classes in place of EE classes . So mostly a CE can do any job requiring an EE degree. If your looking to be a Systems Admin then you are definitely in the wrong program. You should be getting a degree in Computer Science Information Systems but CS would definitely be closer to that type of work than CE would.
 
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highland145

highland145

Lifer
Oct 12, 2009
43,973
6,334
136
For the OP.....just DIAF.

For normal, smart, motivated guys....Guy I know has his name on 30 patents via Intel.
 
Zeze

Zeze

Lifer
Mar 4, 2011
11,395
1,187
126
I didnt' even realize this Tommy kid's been here since 2000.

That means he's at least my age or older (early 30s).

He posts like he's 12...
 
SheHateMe

SheHateMe

Diamond Member
Jul 21, 2012
7,251
20
81
I'm starting to feel like the degree doesn't matter so much as the connections you make with employers and stuff while you're in college.


I talked to a rep from Google at an IT mixer back in October. I felt pretty stupid for even trying, I was scared, and I felt intimidated by the kids in front of me with all their achievements.

Anyway, 2 days ago, I got an email from the Google rep saying that she has a program at Google that I might be interested in and to email her back so we can talk.


So, I don't know. I'm not even going for CS anymore, I switched to Communications and I am just wading through informal interviews.
 
Leros

Leros

Lifer
Jul 11, 2004
21,867
7
81
SheHateMe said:
I'm starting to feel like the degree doesn't matter so much as the connections you make with employers and stuff while you're in college.


I talked to a rep from Google at an IT mixer back in October. I felt pretty stupid for even trying, I was scared, and I felt intimidated by the kids in front of me with all their achievements.

Anyway, 2 days ago, I got an email from the Google rep saying that she has a program at Google that I might be interested in and to email her back so we can talk.


So, I don't know. I'm not even going for CS anymore, I switched to Communications and I am just wading through informal interviews.
Click to expand...

Don't get too excited about recruiters contacting you. They'll contact anything with a pulse. Recruiters are vermin.
 
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randomrogue

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2011
5,449
0
0
I don't understand the timeline at all. In 2000 he was a Freshman in college. He was like 21 in 2005. He's 23 today. What the hell is going on here?!
 
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