career choices

[mapmap]

What careers could these courses Computer Science, Software Engineering, and Computer Engineering lead to?

[[Gandalf]]

Perhaps something that makes use of Google...

[mapmap]

well what course would be the best to go into the video game industry with and doing what jobs.
On the university of waterloo computer engineering site it says that:

What can I do after graduation?

You'll apply your design principles to computer hardware and software in a wide variety of industries. Work on projects that impact society in life-saving ways in the health industry by using computer electronics and simulations to combat disease, or help people enjoy the lighter side of life by working in the gaming industry.

so would this be the best choice to get into the gaming industry?

[jbking]

The "best" choice is dependent on so many factors that even if you did have a time machine, you could wind up wasting a number of years trying to plot out which would be the best as really each program has its merits and you don't know what each will give you that makes it different from the others.

CS Careers lists a few options for what some CS grads have done. I think it worthwhile to point out that the degree isn't some golden ticket that will get you first chance into a video game company. The world doesn't work that way, at least from what I've seen. If you have the connections to those that design video games then you may have a better chance, but there are a lot of different career options for those with a degree in any of the 3 programs.

Is your question more of what do each of the 3 lead or generally what do all 3 lead? There is a difference between these questions to my mind.

[mapmap]

Quote:

Is your question more of what do each of the 3 lead or generally what do all 3 lead? There is a difference between these questions to my mind.

I'm not completely sure but could you answer both questions?

[Turing_Gamer]

I would say one of the big 3 (Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft) but it is most likely they won't be hiring any time soon so stick with the minor group (ex: Silicon Knights, gaming cites, etc.)

[jbking]

In general, I'd think most IT jobs would be possibilities, which would include developers, testers, technical support, administrators(System, database and network), analysts, etc. There are of course developers outside of IT so that is also possible which would include video game makers as well as other software vendors. There are also places where there may be people that juggle various duties under one hat, like when I first started working out of university and had to manage systems, databases, networks, websites on top of developing software, testing software and other stuff.

While I did graduate with a CS degree, I don't know much about the current Engineering programs that have had some changes since my time as back in my day I think the Computer Engineering was Electrical and Computer Engineering rather than being split out like it is now. The Software Engineering seems to be more specialized which may or may not be where you want to be in a sense. Of course it may be worth seeing if a guidance counselor can help you understand the differences between these choices.

[mapmap]

alright I'm also wondering about the video game developer courses in colleges and why someone might take that course

[jbking]

mapmap @ Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:25 pm wrote:

alright I'm also wondering about the video game developer courses in colleges and why someone might take that course

My guess is that they may want to make video games. Nowadays, I can wonder what changes are going on within the gaming world where the Wii seemed to change some things as more casual gamers started playing, but there are various video game makers as well as the question of what constitutes a video game. For example, does Farmville on Facebook count as a video game? How about various iPhone apps? While there isn't anything wrong with dreaming, it is worth thinking about the fact that there are probably thousands of people that would like to design the next WoW game, but the companies with the financial resources to pay them all doesn't quite stretch that far.

[mapmap]

so if i want to go into the software side of things i would not pick computer engineering then right?

[Turing_Gamer]

For more building (CPU, wiring, and so on) than programming, go comp engineering. For more programming (including microwaves, TVs and stuff) than building, go computer science. Lol I'm taking both next school year.

[jbking]

mapmap @ Tue Mar 02, 2010 4:33 pm wrote:

so if i want to go into the software side of things i would not pick computer engineering then right?

I'd be sure to take a look at what is covered by the courses in Computer Engineering just to be sure it isn't a good pick is my initial reaction to the question. This is why I gave the suggestion of finding a guidance counselor or other to possibly help as there may be some course or material that you really want to study that isn't covered well in the other programs. Another thought is how well do you know what you want now? Do you want to be a developer, tester, analyst or something else? What is appealing about this subject to you? I enjoyed solving logic problems and personal computers were rather new in my day. When I was 8, I have a Commodore 64 which had only 64K of memory to it but oh did I ever have a lot of fun playing with it.