Alrighty! I know a lot of guys around here like to strut their expertice so maybe someone could give me some advice. Next semester I will be transfering to UT from UH. I am currently a Computer Science major, and have enjoyed the classes I've taken thus far, but I also don't think I'd want Programming to be exclusively the only thing I study the rest of college, much less to be my job for the rest of my life. I applied for a major tranfser at UT and they told me I can switch to Electrical Engineering, which houses Computer Engineering, just have to call them up by the 19th to accept. I know I can handle either one, I breezed through Calculus 1 and 2 with relative ease getting A's. Now I am sure that I would like to deal with computers as a career, and I'm pretty sure I want to go with the Engineering route, but before I do I was just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on: What it was like getting a degree in either, what was the majority of the course work like? Anything you really despised about either?; What kind of jobs have you been able to get / What the longterm future holds for either Computer Science or Computer Engineering degree holders? And of course any other random advice would be appreciated as well! Thanks!
First of all...you're going to love UT campus and Austin. Secondly, (IIRC) about five to seven years ago, only 25% graduate from the CS program. This may have changed since the college of Natural Sciences implemented restrictions to control the number of students transferring into CS. Thirdly, the difference between UH and UT is that the former has an "H" and the latter, a "T." An academic difference, none the less. You will have to decide for yourself what major to pursue. (FWIW, many EEs transfer to CS. Many CS students transfer to Accounting.) Fourth (and certainly not least), watch out for EE316 -- everyone (EE, CS, their brothers, their sisters, my dog Spot, everyone) has to take this self-paced course. Fifth, don't try to hack into the student database. They frown upon such bravado. University (Alumni I for the UT Guy) Blue
The good thing about EE is that there are a lot of topics to choose from. Unlike CS, you'll do both the hardware and software side of things. If you're doing computer as your tech area, you can choose from electronics, software programming, VLSI design, microprocessor applications, etc. All the basic sequence classes at UT are the same, and you are allowed to choose which tech classes you want to take, depending on your area. Get ready to work if you're going into engineering. About EE316, I loved that class. It was one of my favorite classes as well as a lot of friend's favorite classes. If you want a class to watch out for, it's EE312 with Professor Wagner. God...I...HATE that guy.
I was a computer science major at UT (B.S. 1998). I work as a patent attorney now (I went straight to law school after my undergrad). Looking back I think it would have been much better for me to either go into EE or to double major in CS along with EE. EE gives you a much broader base to work from. If you really enjoy programming, you can focus your EE degree with more programming curriculum. As far as EE 316 goes, the fact that it was self-paced worked for me. I basically crammed the entire course into the beginning of the semester (the time I am usually goofing off in my other classes).
Excellent thread. I graduated with BS in Electrical Engineering from UT last December. I now work in the Reliability Engineering dept. for a large PC manufacturer here in Austin. Several things you need to know: 1. Avoid Computer Science. Finding a good programming job right now is next to impossible. Plenty of ex-software and IT guys are working at Starbucks or waiting tables to make ends meet. Of course, there will be an upturn eventually, but right now, the supply significantly exceeds the demand. 2. Electrical Engineering is arguably the most technically intensive degree program at the University (some argue Chem E is). I jumped from a 2.9 to a 3.2 in my last three semesters at UT, thanks to some precise course selection. Anyways, EE316 is a thorn in the side for the semester. It isn't that difficult, but it takes time away from your other classes. Stay ahead of schedule early on, and you should easily finish with an "A". 3. The thing I despised most? There's plenty. For one, the department is full of socially inept losers who care more about playing Quake III online than going out and enjoying UT. Have you seen Revenge of the Nerds? Well, ENS (EE building) demonstrates similar demographics as the Tri-Lambda house. So if you're an EE major, make sure that you hang out with people from other departments as a rule. 4. Courses that I did bad in? Got C's in: 312: C++ for EEs 319K: M6812HC microprocessor assembly 313: Linear Systems and Signals 338: Analog Design I 338K: Analog Design II Luckily I never got any D's so I never had to retake a course. I finished in 4.5 years, after doing co-op for 3 semesters. I took all my history, govt, and English through either AP exams, HCC, or ACC. 5. The longterm doesn't look very bright for EEs. There is surplus of new college grads who cannot find work. Every day, more and more R&D is being moved overseas to Taiwan, China, and India. Labor is cheaper there, and the work is similar quality. In that regard, I fear for my job every day, and I've been reluctant to buy a new car. You're better off going into the power, engineering and construction, or oil and gas industry. Much more stable, with better job security. 6. In the words of TEX (telephone enrollment exchange), "goodbye and good luck."
UT Austin is not the place to go if u going to major in CS, UT Dallas is the #1 in CS in texas. I also face the same problem about choosing major, all of the people I know had told me to take CS since I'm good at programming and all the computer stuffs. But I really don't want to choose programming as my career becoz i don't want to dealing with computer all the time, i prefer to communicate with human being rather than machines. So i'm really shaky about taking CS as my major.
EE316 kicked my ass because I was at Chapter 11 at Thanksgiving when I took it in Fall 1998. It's actually a damn easy class if you know how to avoid procrastination.
Hey, I just wanted to thank everyone for the replies, they were great, especially Baqui who was quite insightful! You guys pretty much assured my own feelings with your thoughts (such as the broader base of topics to choose from), so I think I'll go ahead and call them up and accept. I'll keep my eye out for that 316 and buckle down and get ready to work! Who needs family and friends for advice in life when you have the ClutchCity BBS! You guys are awesome, Thanks again!
I just found this thread and it was neat reading it again and reflecting... my how time flies! I just thought it would be fun to reply to this thread with an update seeing as how I'm now a year from graduating... - I went EE, specifically CompEng, doing Embedded Systems and Software Development, holding a 3.333 GPA at the moment. - EE316 was one of my favorites, I'm a procrastinator, however I busted my ass and finished the last unit on my first try as the last one testing on the last day. - **** Lipovski, dude made me hate (and get a C in...) 319K. Loved 345L with Valvano. - Other C's: EE313 and EE351K (ugh...) - Worked as an intern at HP for a summer (http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=78087&page=2&pp=20) - Once I got into major sequence fell into IEEE (the nerds who sit around ENS playing Quake all day ... tho now a days it's Warcraft it seem). - With IEEE, I ended up becoming the IT Chair to manage their computers, web server, forums, etc... - Which landed me an internship that I'm currently working, as a UNIX System Admin with Cirrus Logic, a chip design company here in Austin. - Worked that job 20 hours a week during last semester while taking EE360R and EE345L along with a couple non-EE classes... Non-stop work/stress... most difficult semester to date, thought I was gonna die... but I made it through with out much damage to the GPA. - Played as much basketball as possible at Gregory! - 19 hours to go: 12 next semester (EE345M, EE360N, EE360F, EE360C) 7 final semester (Senior design and some other programming class) - Loved every damn second of it!
I had to Q Drop EE316 once... The second time around, I fell really behind and the TAs were telling me I had to drop the class. Long story short, I completed a little less than 2/3 of the curriculum in a little over 2 weeks and I aced the class. I RULE!!! Anyway, I was a CS BS from the class of 2003. Finding development jobs is pretty tough nowadays due to out-sourcing, but a lot of analyst, consulting and software design jobs are popping up recently. I think it is important to take classes on money-making technologies (e.g. Networks, Graphics, web-related classes and project management classes) while having a strong development background (make sure to take Object-Oriented Programming, half of what I learned from CS came from that class). Be sure to pick your electives wisely. Also, it wouldn't hurt to get the business foundation certification either (5 different basic business classes). On the other hand, I don't know too much Computer Engineering, but I very much enjoyed my CS curriculum.
GRRR!!! Didn't know that thread dated back to 2003. Well, my post is for all the aspiring CS people out there in the word, not for Danzel...
Lipovski retired!!!! Finally! That guy is such an @ss. Laziest professor I've ever met. As far as CS vs. EE. I dropped out of CS at UT because it focused too much on programming, and ended up with a liberal arts degree. I worked for the EE department at UT for years though, and if I could go back in time I would have done EE. Engineering, in general, is a much more developed discipline than CS is right now. The nice thing about EE is that you draw from both the CS and EE jobs. Now that I'm in law school, I really wish my degree was in the sciences or engineering. Intellectual property law in Texas is all about patent law, and you can't sit for the patent bar, generally, without an engineering or science degree. So, go become an engineer, make way more money than you are worth, and then when the market goes to pot (engineering is very cyclical) go to law school. Given that you got accepted into EE as a transfer, your grades must be amazing. Keep it up!
For the summer I'm in West Campus, Rio Nueces, next year North Campus, Le Marquee.... nice to get away from Riverside... Thanks for the reply anyway Bernie... I actually took one of the five business classes as semester filler/easy A, but I think I'll skip the rest... Gotta graduate before Pop cuts me off...
Sweet!! congrats dude. I just graduated this spring from UT CS. A few thoughts.... - Firstly, the guy who says UT-dallas is better than UT-austin at CS is wrong. UTD does have a decent computer graphics research group, but overall UT austin is much more respected nationally. - Jobs.. my advice is get an internship ASAP even if you have to beg and they dont pay you, it makes getting a job soo much easier, I had one internship, graduated with a 3.0, and I had 4 fulltime job offers, all 50-60K$, so the job market is definitly not as bad as people make it out to be, i know a couple people with better gpa's that got 70-80. I would say GPA really matters, much more than i thought a few years ago. A bunch of companies wont even accept your resume if you dont have a 3.5, pretty gay. - if you dont like programming, CS might not be the best choice as that is what most of the jobs are, maybe you want to be MIS - EE vs CS, basically go with whatever you like best, imho ee is more difficult. My main gripe with CS is that they make you take a bunch of irrelevant theory courses. Job outlook is about the same, i think it is better for CS because most companys need software design only a few need hardware design, outsourcing effects both majors
