I am going to do one of them just not sure which one. What are the differences and pros/cons on this?
CS v CSE
- Thread starter mhdagley
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CS vs. CSE depends almost entirely on the school. Generally, though, CS will focus more on programming, and CSE on (these days) things like infrastructure and network management. A lot of overlap between the two, though.
CSE will generally leave you with much less studying to do for various networking/systems certs, and some schools even have getting some certifications part of the coursework. If you really want nuts-and-bolts programming, though, you'll likely have to go CS.
All in all, though, talk to the profs at the schools you're considering to get their impressions of the two programs. Often, the CSE program (usually being newer) will be viewed with some disdain by the faculty, as they look at it as too "easy", since you don't take the really esoteric programming courses.
CSE will generally leave you with much less studying to do for various networking/systems certs, and some schools even have getting some certifications part of the coursework. If you really want nuts-and-bolts programming, though, you'll likely have to go CS.
All in all, though, talk to the profs at the schools you're considering to get their impressions of the two programs. Often, the CSE program (usually being newer) will be viewed with some disdain by the faculty, as they look at it as too "easy", since you don't take the really esoteric programming courses.
My school called them SCS and CPE, so I wasn't sure what CSE was. I'm not really sure if CSE is like CPE (Computer Engineering) or like CSS (Computer Systems Science) which at my school was mostly database, network, and system administration. Wikipedia seems to think Computer Systems Engineering is like Computer Engineering.
My school also had Information Systems, which was a stripped down CS curriculum with a lot of higher-tier business classes like Operations Management and Accounting Systems, and was geared for people who wanted to go into IT management.
Computer Engineering is closer to the hardware. You'll be doing more CPU design, circuits, writing low-level code, embedded stuff, etc. There will be some software development, but it will not be the focus of your degree.
Computer Science is going to be at a higher level of abstraction. You might cover some of the lower-level stuff in a comp. arch. course, but you won't get to the level of transistors and capacitors, you'll study the stuff at the level of logic gates. You'll study a lot of the math involved in coming up with efficient algorithms, work on core operating systems components such as CPU schedulers, study problems with synchronizing several threads accessing the same resource, etc. There will be a lot more software development, but the focus is more on the math and the theory behind why you write algorithms in a certain way, or what is going on behind the scenes within your Java compiler.
Software Engineering is an even higher level of abstraction. You'll study how to gather business requirements from customers, design a system to meet those requirements, and work with domain experts to refine your design. Most of the software development that you do will be piecing together components written by other people so that you can concentrate on the important part, which is your customers' business rules. You will take a lot of business classes, and far fewer theoretical classes; software engineering is the practical application of computer science to solve business problems.
I have a CS degree, and do software engineering for a living.
My school also had Information Systems, which was a stripped down CS curriculum with a lot of higher-tier business classes like Operations Management and Accounting Systems, and was geared for people who wanted to go into IT management.
Computer Engineering is closer to the hardware. You'll be doing more CPU design, circuits, writing low-level code, embedded stuff, etc. There will be some software development, but it will not be the focus of your degree.
Computer Science is going to be at a higher level of abstraction. You might cover some of the lower-level stuff in a comp. arch. course, but you won't get to the level of transistors and capacitors, you'll study the stuff at the level of logic gates. You'll study a lot of the math involved in coming up with efficient algorithms, work on core operating systems components such as CPU schedulers, study problems with synchronizing several threads accessing the same resource, etc. There will be a lot more software development, but the focus is more on the math and the theory behind why you write algorithms in a certain way, or what is going on behind the scenes within your Java compiler.
Software Engineering is an even higher level of abstraction. You'll study how to gather business requirements from customers, design a system to meet those requirements, and work with domain experts to refine your design. Most of the software development that you do will be piecing together components written by other people so that you can concentrate on the important part, which is your customers' business rules. You will take a lot of business classes, and far fewer theoretical classes; software engineering is the practical application of computer science to solve business problems.
I have a CS degree, and do software engineering for a living.
- Thread starter
- #5
Ah. At mine, Computer Science was under the College of Arts and Sciences, and Computer Engineering was under the College of Engineering.
I coulda sworn that they stood for Cases vs. Crime Solution Efficiency.
Hi there - one of my few areas of expertise, as I've done them both, by chance.
CS is more theoretical, more rigorous, and (dare I say it) more respected in academia and higher ranks of industry. CSE is more practical, more directly applicable, and is initially more useful in terms of tackling a wide range of technology positions.
Ultimately, it doesn't really matter too much as they both teach you skills you require in most technical positions. It depends on your goals.
Drop me a PM or leave a message here if you're interested in more information.
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
- Thread starter
- #9
I want to do system admin stuff. So what would be the best course of action for that? Its not like I have to know, im not going back to the university till next fall, doing basics at local.
I'd recommend CSE for sysadmin positions, always predicated on talking to the faculty for their recommendation, as they know the coursework in their programs. Of course, you may be able to double CS/CSE with minimal extra work, due to the large amount of overlap, so definitely ask the profs about that.
Sys admin = CSE.
- Thread starter
- #12
ok next question masters or bachelors or phd?
BS first, MS if you can't jump into a good position on your BS. Otherwise, several years as a BOFH looks better on your resume than an MS. Don't bother with the Ph.D. unless you want to stay in academia. And if you're shooting for Ph.D., definitely do CS rather than CSE.
OldSaw
The wife's investment
CS is the only option at my university. Makes the choice kind of easy. Good info, though.
It's not really the case that you should ask "masters or bachelors or phd?", because that just really asks how many years you should stay in Higher Education. You might do your Bachelors, go for your dream job, and never look back at university.
Many people find that "a Masters is the new Bachelors", in that almost everyone has one these days, and they stay on for an extra 1-2 years to pick one up. The Masters are typically more focussed than the generality of the Bachelors (particularly in the US educational system, where that first degree is really diluted compared to equivalent European degrees*), and so you can pick one in your area of interest.
Staying on yet further for a PhD can be fun if you enjoy the subject, and (just as importantly) if can obtain the finances to do so - possibly via scholarship. If you're interested in higher echelons of industry, or academia, a PhD can be useful (but is by no means required - this is from a European perspective).
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
*Meaning that US undergraduate degrees consist of a great deal of extra material apart from the main subject, whereas European degrees specialise very early.
Many people find that "a Masters is the new Bachelors", in that almost everyone has one these days, and they stay on for an extra 1-2 years to pick one up. The Masters are typically more focussed than the generality of the Bachelors (particularly in the US educational system, where that first degree is really diluted compared to equivalent European degrees*), and so you can pick one in your area of interest.
Staying on yet further for a PhD can be fun if you enjoy the subject, and (just as importantly) if can obtain the finances to do so - possibly via scholarship. If you're interested in higher echelons of industry, or academia, a PhD can be useful (but is by no means required - this is from a European perspective).
Toodlepip,
Hobbes
*Meaning that US undergraduate degrees consist of a great deal of extra material apart from the main subject, whereas European degrees specialise very early.
Although, one could look at it as well-rounded-ness. We have access to European-style narrowly-specialized degrees too . . . at tech colleges.
I just looked at the requirements at his university. It looks like CS is what he wants for sysadmin stuff; CSE is a similar curriculum, but adds digital logic and circuit design classes and is a bit lighter on the programming stuff. CSE there is "Computer Science and Engineering".
That's the problem with those abbreviations. They never stand for the same thing, and even if they do, the words don't mean the same thing
You may also consider Information Systems in your business department.
That's the problem with those abbreviations. They never stand for the same thing, and even if they do, the words don't mean the same thing
You may also consider Information Systems in your business department.
Ahhhh! That makes all the difference in the world! CS(ystems)E is much higher level, but CS(cience)E is much lower level . . .
Do math instead. Then you can do anything http://xkcd.com/435/!
"Oh, hey, I didn't see you guys all the way over there."
FTW!
FTW!
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