Computer Science vs Computer Engineering

[hallowon]

While I have made a decision earlier, I,however, have doubt on the program I should pick. As of recently, waterloo has accepted me into both the honours computer engineering program and the computer science program, both co-op. My dilemna is that I do not know what to pick.I love both hardware and software. I do not want to take software engineer. I looked at the countless threads and of various sites, including this one of course, and many websites that detail such.


What I want to know that would really help make my decision is what were your experience with these programs when yuo went to university?What was student life like?How much was courseload? If your out of university, what were the jobs like?

My important question is that What are salaries like?What kind of wages should I be expecting? -Google search gives me a variety of answers that all do not seem to match each other

[Tony]

http://compsci.ca/blog/choosing-between-computer-science-and-computer-engineering/

http://compsci.ca/blog/the-spirit-of-software-engineering/ (essentially Engineering vs. CS)

There is quite a large overlap in the jobs. CE does make it easier to get into hardware, but your skills and choice of co-op locations will likely have a bigger impact on both jobs and salaries, than the program you graduate from.

[hallowon]

Yes, I have read those before. I was meaning to ask you this. You said in a comment that "I?m gonna go with: their souls, as Engineering programs kill their students from the inside." By that do you mean that engineering is that intense?

[hallowon]

If only I can take both without killing myself in the process:/

[Tony]

Yes, the Engineering programs are more demanding. Computer Science is more flexible -- you can drop a certain course or schedule to take it later, with less load. The rigorous structure of Engineering makes it difficult to catch up.