Current Events > Computer Engineering vs Computer Science vs Information Technology

(+) Yeah! (+)

To be sure:

CE is building computers
CS is creating programs for those computers
IT is using the programs on those computers
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I took an IT class in college to kill time and it was basically just organizing library books
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lilORANG posted...

I took an IT class in college to kill time and it was basically just organizing library books

Tell me more. Seriously
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CE is CS + more hardware

At least at my school. Everyone who took CE knew roughly as much about programming and algorithms as I did
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I thought Computer Programming was creating programs.
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i majored in IT in college, it's basically everything that has to do with information tech in an enterprise setting
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3khc posted...

To be sure:

CE is building computers

False
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3khc posted...

lilORANG posted...

I took an IT class in college to kill time and it was basically just organizing library books

Tell me more. Seriously

uh, well the prof. was actually just a librarian at the school, and when she introduced herself, she started out with "I'm the wife of a biology prof. here" which made me think she was more proud of being someone's wife than she was of her own accomplishments.
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So what's the real difference vetween the three? I know CS has a shit ton of math.
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CE is part software engineering, part electronic engineering
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MacadamianNut3 posted...

CE is CS + more hardware

At least at my school. Everyone who took CE knew roughly as much about programming and algorithms as I did

This was basically what it was like where I went. I wanted to do the CS side of things, so I focused more towards that, but I had to take EE courses that my CS friends didn't. The other pattern we noticed was that if CE is too tough for you, you drop down to CS, if you CS is too tough for you, you drop down to IT, if IT is too tough for you, you drop out of college.
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chill02 posted...

CE is part software engineering, part electronic engineering

I'd say it's more CS than it is SE.

Also not all CS programs are math heavy, especially the newer ones. Classically CS used to be very math heavy.
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It's pretty dumb how the word "engineering" is thrown around so easily. If it's not electrical, civil, mechanical, or chemical it shouldn't be called engineering. You see these commercials it's like "you can become a heating and cooling engineer" when really you will become an air conditioner technician.

I had to take calculus 3 and differential equations for CS, well...I think right when I graduated they removed the DE requirement, but I minored in math anyways

although where I went had no CE degree
we took classes like digital logic where you build circuits and software engineering was an elective
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computer engineering is the low level hardware, as in, you design the circuits and microprocessors.

computer science is a high level version of software engineering and deals with issues like optimization of software and architecting hardware needs for companies and such. Most people do not have a job in pure "computer science" it's like Math vs Physics. You need Math to do Physics but you usually do not get a job in "Math"

IT / Information Technology is about building computers in the sense of "I am putting the RAM and HDD in this computer" and it's also the field that deals with networking, running cables, installing patches, administrating office technology, etc

Computer Programming / Software Development / Software Engineering is the same thing unless Engineer is a protected title where you live. Some people like to be pedantic and say that Programming is just programming while Engineering is the entire SDLC but I've never literally heard of a professional environment where they have a developer that only writes code and isn't involved in any other part of the SDLC.

IS / Information Security are the cybersecurity guys, in charge of firewalls, encryption, and protecting sensitive data.

DBA / Database Administrators manage data for big companies. In smaller ones, the devs are usually also the DBAs but this isn't a workable model as the company expands. Devs need to write code and DBAs need to manage the database.

QA / Quality Assurance are people who try to break your systems and tell you how they broke it so you can fix it

each of these fields have multiple positions that further define what they do. For example, you could have a Developer whose only job is to fix bugs and refactor code. This is called a maintenance developer.
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If someone goes for IT but later wants to switch to CE or CS, how much carries over in terms of college units/classes. Basically trying to gauge if I should just go full blast CS or stick to the less stressful IT.
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3khc posted...

If someone goes for IT but later wants to switch to CE or CS, how much carries over in terms of college units/classes. Basically trying to gauge if I should just go full blast CS or stick to the less stressful IT.

depends on the school. A lot of colleges don't even have IT because that's a trade school degree

Anyways IT people get shit pay. Go for CS, they get paid way way way more and there is a potential to become extremely rich in CS if you develop software that becomes popular.

Milkman5 posted...

Anyways IT people get shit pay. Go for CS, they get paid way way way more and there is a potential to become extremely rich in CS if you develop software that becomes popular.

CCIEs are paid 6 figures to do nothing so businesses can tell clients that they have a CCIE on staff.

I wouldn't underestimate just how successful the top level people in IT are. Most developers do not end up like Mark Zuckerberg.
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Mark Zuckerberg was IT?
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3khc posted...

Mark Zuckerberg was IT?

No he was my example of a developer who got super rich.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

Most developers do not end up like Mark Zuckerberg.

I said there is potential, not that you will be rich. there's no potential in IT tbh

Milkman5 posted...

ChromaticAngel posted...

Most developers do not end up like Mark Zuckerberg.

I said there is potential, not that you will be rich. there's no potential in IT tbh

The potential to become Mark Zuckerberg rich is less than winning the lottery so may as well go for a guaranteed good money job as a CCIE while playing the lottery *shrug*

I do programming because I enjoy it and I don't enjoy arguing with load balancers and losing.
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I've been out of school for awhile now. I'm afraid to do CS again. Perhaps I simply just wasn't motivated back then, but I pretty much got overwhelmed with the work. What are the biggest hurdles in CS as compared to CE or IT?
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3khc posted...

I've been out of school for awhile now. I'm afraid to do CS again. Perhaps I simply just wasn't motivated back then, but I pretty much got overwhelmed with the work. What are the biggest hurdles in CS as compared to CE or IT?

I would stay away from IT if possible until we're ready to dump the corpse of IPv4 in the same dumpster as Flash as you'll end up learning a bunch of shit that isn't relevent to your field of work in a few years.

CE is an easier degree than CS but the actual work is really fucking hard.
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Milkman5 posted...

ChromaticAngel posted...

Most developers do not end up like Mark Zuckerberg.

I said there is potential, not that you will be rich. there's no potential in IT tbh

This is incorrect. If we are just going by the classifications defined by ChromaticAngel then System Administration, Cisco Certified Networking, and data center engineering falls under his IT category. Those 3 have great potential to be cushy well paid jobs with plenty of advancement opportunities.
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What makes CE an easier degree than CS? And what makes the actual work difficult?
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3khc posted...

What makes CE an easier degree than CS? And what makes the actual work difficult?

CE is about objective answers that you get to with math. CS more like a bunch of puzzles and a lot of them are unintuitive for beginners.

Once you get into the professional field, however, there is nothing in the entire STEM genre that is going to be easy.
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Would you consider either fields to be stressful?
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3khc posted...

Would you consider either fields to be stressful?

IT (actual IT and not help desk or Geek Squad) is insanely stressful and being woken up at 3 AM to fix some stupid shit is just a regular thing.

programming can get stressful around deadlines but it's ok otherwise

I don't know enough about professional CE to comment on stress levels. It's what my father did but he always seemed like the biggest stress issues were dealing with moronic coworkers or stupid government regulations/standards that made no sense like how a display inside a fighter jet needs to function at -90 degrees celsius.

"If the cockpit is -90 degrees celsius the pilot is fucking dead there is no need for this shit." is what he'd say.
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CS is supposed to be software development oriented. IT is supposed to be maintenance, troubleshooting, design oriented. Computer Engineering is just EE unless it's taught by some lame school, in which case it's word processing.

All 3 have overlap and you can get the same job with any of the degrees, so basically the best fit is the one that the college offers that doesn't suck. If your 4 years of word processing amounts to a degree with the words Computer Engineering on it then congrats.
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Speaking of Electrical Engineering, how does that compare to everything here? I know they have to write programs, too. Or at least that's what I've heard.

I've always wanted to learn more about computers though because you know, gaming. Never really looked at EE.
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3khc posted...

Speaking of Electrical Engineering, how does that compare to everything here? I know they have to write programs, too. Or at least that's what I've heard.

I've always wanted to learn more about computers though because you know, gaming. Never really looked at EE.

EE and CE are typically combined into one field called CEET. You write low level code to make microprocessors work.
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In my college, IT has lots of different specializations. The most well known is Networking, which is the switches and cables and stuff. My IT specialization is Game Development, which is what I like to call "CS without the extreme math requirements."

IT and CS have similar classes, like we all had to take Java and Python. Higher level CS courses deal with theory rather than programming.
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Puglia77 posted...

In my college, IT has lots of different specializations. The most well known is Networking, which is the switches and cables and stuff. My IT specialization is Game Development, which is what I like to call "CS without the extreme math requirements."

IT and CS have similar classes, like we all had to take Java and Python. Higher level CS courses deal with theory rather than programming.

A "game development and design" program at a campus is almost always a 3D art / animation program with a little extra where you make the animation interactive.
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CE is the most valuable, IT is the most chill, CS is between the two but closer to CE
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ChromaticAngel posted...

Puglia77 posted...

In my college, IT has lots of different specializations. The most well known is Networking, which is the switches and cables and stuff. My IT specialization is Game Development, which is what I like to call "CS without the extreme math requirements."

IT and CS have similar classes, like we all had to take Java and Python. Higher level CS courses deal with theory rather than programming.

A "game development and design" program at a campus is almost always a 3D art / animation program with a little extra where you make the animation interactive.

We programmed in C++ to mod Quake 2 and Quake 4. There are art and animation courses, but you don't have to take them. An IT required class no matter the specialization was n Adobe Flash class where we had to animate.
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Not to be dickish but IT is really for people who don't have the commitment or desire to go for CS, which is harder but higher paying.
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kevles1017 posted...

CE is the most valuable, IT is the most chill, CS is between the two but closer to CE

I don't know if I agree with CE being more valuable than CS these days.
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CE will require more math/physics type stuff, CS will require spending more time actually programming

/triplepost
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I created this topic set on doing IT instead of CS. Now I'm seriously considering CE.

Am I setting myself up for failure?
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Honestly, don't over think it. All of these degrees will be profitable for you and they have a lot of overlapping classes. Do some research on what jobs you can get with each degree and go for what interests you.

Also it's easy to jump into different career paths once you get in the field. Many employers will see the word computer in your degree name and not know the difference between CS, IT, etc anyway. I got a bachelors in Applied Computer Science and I went into the Sys Admin/Data Center Engineer career path. Never did any sort of software development and don't plan on it.
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So, the question is...

When you're fresh out of college, do you have a better chance at a job with a CS or a SE / CE degree? Does the word "engineering" in your degree makes you more attractive to recruiters?
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You should first figure out what topic actually interests you. Watch some videos on each on youtube to get an idea. Because IT and CE will be very very different.
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IT is a broad field.

You can go into network engineering, DBA, sysad, infosec, cybersec, information assurance, etc.
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I'm not an expert on the subject but I think getting a CS degree might be the best way to get into a field like cyber security (possibly with additional certs)
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how late is "too late" to go for something like a EE/CE? I want to pursue a degree but I'm 29 and work 50 hours a week in an unrelated field :x

29 is definitely not too late at all, you will just have to work less than 50 hours
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treewojima posted...

how late is "too late" to go for something like a EE/CE? I want to pursue a degree but I'm 29 and work 50 hours a week in an unrelated field :x

This particular field is struggling with qualified employee shortages so it's great to go into.

IT and CS have a lot more competition at the moment.
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frozenshock posted...

When you're fresh out of college, do you have a better chance at a job with a CS or a SE / CE degree? Does the word "engineering" in your degree makes you more attractive to recruiters?

If you're talking about a job in software development, it really doesn't matter. Do whichever you like more.
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