How much engineering is applied into the computer science field?
June 6, 2010 by
Filed under computer science schools
Well I will be going into college next year and am thinking about majoring in computer science. In some schools I’ve seen this field under the science department while in others I’ve seen it in the engineering department. This year at school I’ve been taking a college level engineering physics class and found it to be really tough. So my question is how much engineering (as things like vectors and kinematics) is applied to computer science? I’m confused about how the engineering has to do anything with programming and making computers and software…if anyone can clarify all this I would greatly appreciate it.
Anymore a lot. Since a lot of it is teaching
the computer illiterate 3-vector cranks
like Physicists how to use computers.
Not whole a lot, just the entry level engineering classes. You still need physics 1 and 2 , also all the calculus classes. The best thing to do is visit the web site of the university you want to go and you should be able to find information on their computer science program including the classes you need to take.
It really depends on what part of computer science that you are interested in. For example if you want to do robotics then some engineering related knowledge would be usefull. However if you want to work with building compilers or operating systems then an engineering background won’t help you that much.
To be honest a lot of engineers struggle with freshman physics, and I wouldn’t worry about it just yet. It usually takes some time for new concepts like vectors to sink in. And as a high school senior taking college physics, even though you are struggling, you are actually already ahead of the pack.
There are several cross-overs between computer science and engineering. If you are looking to study programming and software design, then you will be looking for a computer science program, likely taught by a separate computer science department.
There are two types of engineering which are specifically computer-related. Computer engineering is probably not something you want, as it focuses far more on hardware design for computers than on software, though you would still be required to take classes on programming. Computer engineers do things like design the architecture behind processors.
Software engineering is far more programming-oriented. It is usually quite close to pure computer science programs. The main difference is that an engineering “mentality” is applied. Engineering concepts are applied to aid in the design of large software projects. Software engineers often supervise or manage large software development projects. Depending on the school, you may be required to take basic engineering design courses in addition to programming courses.
Hopefully that helps.
There’s a spectrum.
On the left you have the pure Computer Science guys.
They’re programmers and can tell you the Big O notation of an algorithm, and the value of data hiding.
On the right are the Electronic Engineers. They can build a computer out of NAND gates and know ladder logic.
In the middle are the Computer Engineers, who want to want to make the best and cheapest computer so that the programmers can create a product that the marketing department can sell to make a buck!
None. It isn’t engineering. It’s programming. Learn something useful, then learn how to program. There is nothing worse than learning a skill like computer science and not having the background to turn it into something useful.
Let’s say you major in computer science and go to your first job and they need someone to design a program to measure the forces on a beam, or to display the results of a chemical reaction from the sensors that read acidity of a solution, or display the results of a Fourier Series. You don’t have the background to do this, as you don’t know what the heck they are talking about!
Major in Engineering, Chemistry, Math or something useful. Then learn programming, which won’t take long. You will be far more useful to any employer.
This goes for those who want to go to law school as well. Major in something with meat in it. Then you have a much better background to be able to do anything after law school and not be tied down to uncomplicated cases.
Just my observation over many years…