Computer Science Canada

3rd and 4th year student of CA Universities HELP
Author:  Amine [ Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:35 am ]
Post subject:  3rd and 4th year student of CA Universities HELP
Greetings,
I apologize for making my post very long but I really wanted to explain well and get valuable answers and not obvious ones like my advisor at school.

well I am new at the forum, have been checking it a lot and just signed up as I need help and I am seeking advice
Well I am a first year international student at Concordia University, QC so I am taking my first year as a prerequisites because I didn't attend CEGEP.
this gave me a good chance to apply for co-op which I didn't know about co-op at Concordia is 3 work terms and few other things.
I chose software engineering because I like problem solving , math and always wanted to do something related to Engineering.

I really wanted to go to University of Waterloo because of the 6 co-op terms and the reputation or Mcguill mainly for the reputation but tuition fees were very high and I went to Concordia at the end of the day and still MTL is awesome.

my problem now is that I am thinking of changing to Computer Sc which is a 3 years program in Quebec therefore I can do 6 co-op terms
my GPA is good and I can get myself into the honors program which should be good too and at honors we take a course in which a student leads a project similar to the idea of capstone (not sure about this) and take some other obligatory Comp Sc courses.
do you think 3 co-op terms are enough an that SE is worth it or should I go for the computer science plan, I met people from Concordia it seems that both majors give same jobs prospective normally but there is the engineering license which worries me. what do you guys think ? and can you tell me from your experience how were your comp Sc classes and have you been enjoying them ? also what kind of skills are nowadays highly in demand such as cloud computing etc ...
I am very anxious and need answers as soon as possible because if I want to change I need to do it now and to register for a prerequisite course of Comp Sc.

anyways Concordia gives a quiet crazy choice that you need to make from first year so if you encourage me to change Major which option would you choose ?
here are my options : http://www.cs.concordia.ca/prospectivestudents/undergraduateprograms/programoptions/#Mathematics%20and%20Statistics%20Core
the Comp Sc core is the same and you have 14 credits of electives in Comp Sc and a number of general ones etc ... I'm thinking of Math , Software systems or computer applications (minor in applied math)
( yeah I want people to vote and give ideas and not just say it's your choice and make the same obvious answers Comp Sc is about and SE is about I'm flexible )

oh, one last thing is Design and Architecture classes I & II in SE makes a big difference ? they are taken in first year here while they're not in Comp Sc

Thank you in advance.
Cheers!
Author:  Aange10 [ Sun Jan 01, 2012 11:20 am ]
Post subject:  RE:3rd and 4th year student of CA Universities HELP
While I don't have the answer to you questions (you'll have to wait for somebody else), I do have some help for you. You should go over these threads and read the responses these students got.


Computer Science VS Software Engineering
Making That Final Decision
A Tip To Stay On Edge
Math Related Interests
Different Aspects of Computer Science
Deciding Your Major
Which Is Better? (Common FAQ)
Job Variables

There are many many more useful topics, I suggest also looking through the forums for answers. However, these posts are the best answers I can give you.
Author:  Tony [ Sun Jan 01, 2012 11:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: 3rd and 4th year student of CA Universities HELP
Amine @ Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:35 am wrote:
my problem now is that I am thinking of changing to Computer Sc which is a 3 years program in Quebec therefore I can do 6 co-op terms [instead of only 3 terms in SE]

If I told you that Concordia's CS also has just 3 co-op terms http://co-op.concordia.ca/co-opprograms/facultyofengineeringandcomputerscience/ would that solve the problem? UWaterloo has 6 because we stay in school for nearly 5 years. In a 3 year program, 6 co-ops would be "2 co-ops per year", which doesn't leave much room for actual study.

Amine @ Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:35 am wrote:
it seems that both majors give same jobs prospective normally but there is the engineering license which worries me.

Yup, pretty much the same jobs. As a SE, you have an option to pursue P.Eng after (details might be somewhat different in Quebec than Ontario that I'm more familiar with). Most SE grads I know don't bother, as the benefits seem very marginal.



Amine @ Sun Jan 01, 2012 4:35 am wrote:

also what kind of skills are nowadays highly in demand such as cloud computing etc ...

Amazon's AWS did not exist when I started school. "Cloud computing" became an "in demand" thing before I graduated. Apple's AppStore (and thus the entire Objective-C, apps, and "mobile") appeared even later (Apple's AppStore is 3.5 years old). That hot new "in demand" technology/idea that will be in style by the time you graduate 3~4 years in the future? It might simply not exist today, so who knows.

That is to say, you should be ready to pick up on new things as needed Wink
Author:  Amine [ Sun Jan 01, 2012 2:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: 3rd and 4th year student of CA Universities HELP
thank you Tony for the answer.
I'm enrolled in the Co-op program of Concordia, but I'm thinking of changing to Comp Sc mainly because I would be able to do 6
well you made a very good point saying it doesn't leave much room for study ! but what I'm thinking of is to take one extra year ( 3 successive work terms ) somewhere.
that can be awesome.
does anyone know about the Design & Architecture classes of SE and how important are they ?

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