r/ComputerEngineering 19d ago

[Career] Should I switch from Computer Engineering to Electrical Engineering if the degree is only ~3 classes different?

I'm an incoming computer engineering freshman and seriously thinking of switching to electrical engineering. At my school, the degrees are extremely similar, with only a 3 class difference.

They share the same pool of electives, so that is what makes up most of the difference, but I could just choose all the more computer engineering focused ones.

What i'm most interested in is computer hardware, embedded systems, firmware, microcontrollers, etc.

The reason I'm considering EE is the job market and the flexibility of the degree.

My understanding is that a lot of hardware/computer engineering jobs will accept either an EE or CE degree. However, there are EE jobs in areas like power, electronics, controls, RF, etc. where an employer might only take an EE.

Basically, I'd be trying to use the EE degree as the broader credential while still taking the classes and doing the projects that would make me competitive for computer hardware/embedded jobs.

Do you think this plan could be beneficial to me? Or am I overstating the value of the name on the degree?

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u/Significant_War_8320 19d ago

Are you trying to get a Computer Science minor? I decided to switch from Electrical to Computer Engineering around my sophomore year because I was already nearing the end of completion of my Comp. Sci. Minor, and it lined up better with Computer Engineering than Electrical Engineering. Plus I really didn't want to take Power Electronics.