Electrical or Computer Engineering?

JCMS

I'm currently a second semester CE student. I have until tomorrow to choose to change for EE without affecting my curriculum. Since I've been 14, I've always wanted to go CE and wasn't really interested in the pure EE topics. When I was doing my Sciences college degree in CEGEP (Quebec system) I discovered an interest in physics that I never thought I had. Almost chose to do a Physics Degree.

Last semester I discovered that I actually kinda like designing circuits and now I love to draw circuits on Altium and we're starting PCBs now... Love to play with my breadboard! The CE degree here is quite low on the hardware side (and the EE quite low on the software side). My main interests right now are Robotics/Intelligent systems, Telecommunications and Embedded Systems.

And EE degree would let me choose whatever I want, and at worst, I can transform this into a double major by doing a certificate of computer science (albeit having 1 more year of study...) while a CE degree would specialize me in Embedded Systems and/or Artificial Intelligence right out of the box.

During the EE degree I feel like I could touch anything, plus I'm in a 5-intern COOP program so I could do my first 2 interns as a programmer which would balance my degree.

I feel like I should be in EE but I can't make myself sure. Everyone's pushing me to stay CE (Counselors because of jobs, my EE cousin, my CE mates etc.).

Is the market that bad for Electrical Engineers? (In East Canada). I do like the CE curriculum better as a whole but all the CEs I see are working as Software Engineers or simple programmers while the EEs are doing what I'd call Computer Engineering.

jsgruszynski

In the grand scheme of things, neither Computer Engineer nor Electrical Engineering are all that different in terms of job prospects. That's the wrong criteria.

Think of the poor little liberal arts majors studying communication or philosophy. Now there is a situation where job prospects should really be affecting your choice of majors. Not engineering vs. engineering. That's a penny-wise, pound-foolish way to look at it. Shame on your counselors. Instead ask what you enjoy, what challenges you and what you seem to be good at. That will be a better criteria in this case.

From your experience (interest at 14, physics interest, coop/intern) I'd say you probably already can handle the CompE side with your eyes closed. You may need more of a challenge anyway.

Also consider that it's always easier to go from something more challenging (like HW and especially analog on the EE side) to something less challenging (like SW, digital and programming, on the CompE side), than vice versa, so if you must take job security into account, EE is probably a tad better because of that.

Also having two fields often gives you better job security because you can bridge technology areas that other single focus folks can not. There's a lot of power to that. Doing the double major, as you say, is all good. Another example of this kind of bridging is EE + ME or ME + CompE + EE degrees for robotics - think about how that could work out.

Your pals may contest all this but I have 30 years as an analog guy who easily does digital and software that says I'm right. I started doing computers, programming, ham radio and electronics only a few years earlier that you. I think I know where you're coming from.

Also things like cell phones are, and will continue to be, so-called "mixed-signal" systems which are analog and digital in the same circuit. Only people who know both work on stuff like that.