Electrical Engineering along with Computer Science?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the value of pursuing a dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, specifically considering the additional year of study required and its implications for career prospects and marketability in the job market.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant outlines the structure of their dual degree program, detailing the additional Computer Science courses that would be included alongside the Electrical Engineering curriculum.
  • Another participant argues that the versatility gained from combining Electrical Engineering with Computer Science is beneficial and opens up more career options.
  • A different participant mentions that programming is a valuable tool in various areas of Electrical Engineering and that having programming skills can be sufficient for many employers.
  • Concerns are raised about the trade-off of graduating a year later and the increased difficulty of semesters due to a heavier course load, questioning whether these factors were considered in the assessment of the program's worth.
  • One participant confirms that Computer Science is indeed used in control systems, which is the specialization of interest for the original poster, and emphasizes the importance of security in engineering systems.
  • A suggestion is made for including a course in embedded systems as part of the Computer Science curriculum to enhance marketability.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the value of the additional year of study and the impact on job market readiness. While some advocate for the dual degree as a means to increase versatility and career options, others highlight the potential downsides, such as delayed graduation and increased workload. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the overall worth of the dual degree.

Contextual Notes

Participants have not reached a consensus on whether the benefits of the dual degree outweigh the drawbacks of an extended study period and increased course load. There are also varying opinions on the necessity of specific Computer Science topics in relation to Electrical Engineering applications.

Applesmack
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My school has an dual degree in Electrical Engineering and Computing technology for a total of 5 years. Basically I take a standard Electrical Engineering degree but another whole extra year is added due to the fact I will also be taking Computer Science courses.

Here to give you a perspective. If I do the computing option, these are the programming courses that will be added onto my electrical engineering degree:
ITI1120 Introduction to Computing I
ITI1121 Introduction to Computing II
CSI2101 Discrete Structures
CSI2110 Data Structures and Algorithms
CSI2120 Programming Paradigms
CSI2372 Advanced Programming Concepts with C++
CSI3120 Programming language Concepts
CSI3131 Operating Systems
SEG2105 Introduction to Software Engineering
SEG2106 Software Construction
And finally the last course is an elective in a computer engineer, computer science or software engineering class third year or higher.

Do you think it is worth it to take Electrical Engineering and these CS courses and stay an extra year in university? Will it make me significantly more marketable and increase my job market? Is programming useful and used by electrical engineers?
 
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I think it is totally worth it. The versatility you will have is a big plus and will offer many more career options.
 
It can't hurt. I am a EE and spend plenty of time programming. It is a valuable tool and used in a lot of different EE areas.

I would also say though that if you are a EE and put on your resume you can program and can demonstrate some experience in that departement I think that is sufficient for many employers.
 
well the downside as I mentioned is that I graduate 1 year later, which means I will be missing a year of experience compared to the people I started with. Also, my semesters become significantly more difficult as I have to take 6 courses instead of 5 on many semesters and my "relief" elective courses are basically replaced by these CS courses. Did you take this into account when stating it was worth it? Is CS used in control systems? That is the specialization I'm mostly interested in.
 
Applesmack said:
Is CS used in control systems? That is the specialization I'm mostly interested in.

Yes. It is. My degree is in Electrical Engineering. I have a strong background in computers (self-taught starting from my teenage days) and I am a control systems engineer.

One thing I noticed missing from that CS effort is anything to do with security systems. That is very marketable these days. It is not enough to be an engineer, you need to make your systems safe AND secure. If your C classes still teach you to use printf and scanf, tell your instructors to get some new books.

A course in embedded systems would also be a good idea.

This is just the start of a very deep, very broad career. I recommend it highly.
 

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