computer science vs EE for programming jobs e.g software engineering

Would EE give me the same opportunities to pressure a career in something like machine learning or software engineering (programming based), like computer science would. Or is the programming in EE mostly to do with embedded systems, and I would have to further studying out of the realm of EE in order for me to have those skills.

Original post by BFR25

Would EE give me the same opportunities to pressure a career in something like machine learning or software engineering (programming based), like computer science would. Or is the programming in EE mostly to do with embedded systems, and I would have to further studying out of the realm of EE in order for me to have those skills.

CS is a better bet for tech because you'll do a lot more programming, and you'll also study much more of the theory, which will help with the advanced or technically challenging areas, such as machine learning.

Reply 2

Lancaster Student Ambassador

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Original post by BFR25

Would EE give me the same opportunities to pressure a career in something like machine learning or software engineering (programming based), like computer science would. Or is the programming in EE mostly to do with embedded systems, and I would have to further studying out of the realm of EE in order for me to have those skills.

Hello! I'm a final-year Computer Science student at Lancaster University. I would also suggest Computer Science or Software Engineering degree if you are interested in pursuing a career in these directions. When I was choosing my university choices, I also considered EE, and seems like EE are more focused on embedded systems, although they also had software focus such as changing the frequencies of voices. I am not studying EE, so I am not 100% sure about what it is like when actually studying it. I ended up choosing Computer Science since it is a broader subject and I can choose to focus on software engineering, machine learning & AI, cyber security, data science, web development, etc after graduation.

Here's a link to the Computer Science course at Lancaster:
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/computer-science-bsc-hons-g400/
Software Engineering course at Lancaster:
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/software-engineering-bsc-hons-g602/

At Lancaster, the G400 and G602 course are both under the School of Computing and Communications, and they share the same first year, so students can switch between the course title in the first year. While EE will be under the Engineering department.

Electronic & Electrical Engineering course:
https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/electronic-and-electrical-engineering-beng-hons-h607/

I hope you'll be able to find a subject that you enjoy, best of luck!

- Miyuki (Lancaster University FST Student Ambassador)

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 3

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Original post by BFR25

Would EE give me the same opportunities to pressure a career in something like machine learning or software engineering (programming based), like computer science would. Or is the programming in EE mostly to do with embedded systems, and I would have to further studying out of the realm of EE in order for me to have those skills.

Hi there!

I also go to Lancaster University however I have just graduated with a Natural Sciences BSc so thought I could give my experience with the degree as it sounds like it could be something that could work well if you chose to pursue both computer science and EE. Natural Sciences degrees tend to vary by university, so it's definitely worth having a look around to see what course is right for you. At Lancaster, the degree is very flexible, you can choose 3 pathways out of a possible 21. The subjects range from computer science, electrical engineering, maths, geography, physics, earth sciences, and more, so there are many different possible combinations! The complete list of different pathways is in the brochure which can be found here - https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/natural-sciences/ .

Miyuki has provided a really comprehensive answer about the differences between the two courses, Natural Sciences would allow you to study both subjects alongside each other. You could also choose to switch to just one of the courses after your first year if you decided that you preferred one over the other. It's worth keeping in mind that to study EE within Natural Sciences, you are required to have studied maths and physics at A level.

Best of luck with all of your decisions, if you have any further questions, feel free to let me know!

- Bethan (Lancaster University Student Ambassador)

Reply 4

jonathan_Smith

4

Original post by BFR25

Would EE give me the same opportunities to pressure a career in something like machine learning or software engineering (programming based), like computer science would. Or is the programming in EE mostly to do with embedded systems, and I would have to further studying out of the realm of EE in order for me to have those skills.

Hi,
I am studying EEE and also worked as an embedded software engineer. If you want to pursue a career in machine learning or software engineering then a computer science degree is better period.

The programing I did in EEE was:
First year: C and MATLAB
Second year: Alot of MATLAB
Third year: C++ and C for embedded, VHDL and MATLAB
Fourth year: C for one module, MATLAB/Python for machine learning modules and I am using C++ for my project.

So yes there is some programming in EEE but it is focused mainly on embedded devices and is not ideal for a career in software engineering. A CS degree will open many more opportunities in web dev, mobile apps, data science/AI, quant/algo trading and so on.

Reply 5

DanielRobin2

2

Original post by BFR25

Would EE give me the same opportunities to pressure a career in something like machine learning or software engineering (programming based), like computer science would. Or is the programming in EE mostly to do with embedded systems, and I would have to further studying out of the realm of EE in order for me to have those skills.

Knowledge wise there are several courses ee don't cover and you have to cover it yourself , like algorithm design, linear algebra and ... But for getting a job as far as I know the most important thing is your skills and your interview, if you pass them well and have a good project experience in your git hub or ... You have a good chance to get accepted! If you felt a little unconfident about some topics you can always enter a boot camp or in larger scale study masters of cs

computer science vs EE for programming jobs e.g software engineering

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