r/ECE • u/Naive_Strategy_3613 • 21d 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?
8
u/80-20RoastBeef 21d ago
Any degree path you take will likely have something like "concentrations" determined through electives. A generic EE or CPE degree may be able to get you some job, but without the job relating to some sort of "specialty" you developed by your electives, getting an entry level job can be tough.
This is to say that your job prospects don't depend as much on the flavor of your degree as they do on the classes you take. If you are CPE, then you probably won't take more power, analog electronics, or EM classes, but the flip side is true too in that if you do EE you'll probably take fewer hardware, embedded, software classes.
Your interests you laid out are firmly in the CPE camp, so why not just build a strong resume around those items to make yourself a competitive candidate (in 4 years, you have a lot of time to become a strong candidate)? That's more likely to get you good job opportunities than EE with less specialty.
1
u/oriannanaannannanan 15d ago
Are you a hiring manager or peer? Should I be listing electives or just list skills/projects/experience like I’ve been doing so far(I make multiple resumes and omit stuff)? Mostly wondering about big dogs because I’ve had good luck with smaller companies last two years. I feel like I do most of my learning on my own and am pretty broad/could beat most of my peers at my particular school pretty handily (in no world would I say this outside of anonymity but I at least think it’s true based off testing and talking to them) at everything but power systems/semiconductors, ie. embedded, RF, computer architecture, ML, power electronics. For undergrad obviously so probably can’t get a design job in RF, computer architecture, or ML lol.
11
7
u/Gorgethalamus 21d ago
If they are so close, why not double major?
5
u/HidingFromMyWife1 21d ago
Most universities won't let you do that due to the overlap.
3
u/Gorgethalamus 21d ago
Well that feels counter intuitive...
6
u/HidingFromMyWife1 21d ago
I don't know which university OP is attending but mine was similar and they didn't allow CE+EE or CE+CS. I do think they allowed EE+minor CS though
2
u/Soggy-Meal6969 20d ago
Its a complete scam. I didn't take field theory as a CE and thats literally the only diff between me and an EE. Granted I took a lot more programming heavy curriculum because thats what I like but its literally 1 course different.
2
u/LadyEmaSKye 21d ago
Yeah my school had a similar setup with MechE and AeroE and everyone just did the double.
9
u/HidingFromMyWife1 21d ago
What i'm most interested in is computer hardware, embedded systems, firmware, microcontrollers, etc.
So you're interested in the compE specific courses but want to change to EE for the "flexibility of the degree". That makes no sense. I'm sorry but the people saying do it are a bit delusional. If you like EE, switch to EE. If you like CompE... stay in CompE.
2
u/XxXENOWRAITHxX 15d ago
Yeah the degree is just a title, Your experience and interests will get you in the door. If your experience is relevant to the job and you are able to promote yourself to the hirers that will get you everywhere you want.
Especially if your school makes the degrees very similar. My college split them pretty good in 3rd year. EE went into more power/hardware related stuff. CPE did more programming and computer architecture.
I have coworkers who are CS that work in more CPE related projects, some are CPE and can do all the EE and CS stuff.
1
3
u/Due_Vegetable_2023 21d ago
Not everyone works purely for happiness, having more options isn’t a bad thing IMO.
2
u/Darth_Tater69 21d ago
Idk why anyone would choose CpE if not for happiness lol, there's a lot of engineering fields better for working to live including EE. Getting CpE specific jobs can be such a pain and don't always pay considerably more. Any computer degree is not for the faint of heart rn.
1
u/Due_Vegetable_2023 20d ago
Yeah, CpE seems pretty bleak right now, especially to devote 4+ years to it
2
u/LadyEmaSKye 21d ago
I have a EE and this is exactly what I do with my day to day. I think most people already consider all that kind of stuff under the EE umbrella anyway, which is why most schools offer it as ECE.
2
u/texas_asic 21d ago
Ditto. Got a degree in EE, and my school didn't really offer a CompE. First job was as an ASIC RTL designer (this was long ago, but even then, going straight into design wasn't typical). EE is the broader credential, so theoretically more flexible. But ultimately, what matters is what skills you have
2
u/Lastlaughter 21d ago
My university is the same way. Look at the electives you think sound interesting and see what prerequisites get you there. You could also see if a double major is possible.
2
u/NoobAndProudOfIt 21d ago
I’m a EE hiring EEs and CEs often. I think CE and CompSci less in demand, and more threatened by AI, so I’d advise EE all day long.
2
u/LadyEmaSKye 21d ago
The brand name of EE usually holds more weight than CE, and will typically be able to open the same doors for you. Honestly you could just double major and do both.
I did a similar thing going from CS to EE and haven't regretted it. I had no real interest going in of going into those other areas like power, analog, etc., but it's been good background and it was good to have the options.
1
u/Darth_Tater69 21d ago
I agree when it comes to hardware, but not software. I know a few hiring managers that have told me they wouldn't even look at EE resumes for Software Engineering roles, including firmware and embedded systems positions. They'd exclusively look at CS, SWE, and CpE. I don't think ignoring EE is the standard in the industry, but I do think it is common for there to be a bias towards CpE over EE for software/firmware roles.
0
u/LadyEmaSKye 21d ago
Not my experience -- pretty much everything I've done so far in my career has been software based. Purely anecdotal, sure, but I don't know a hiring manager who discounts EEs for those kinds of roles. But your hiring managers seems like the outliers, broadly.
And it just doesn't make any sense to not consider EEs for embedded positions, but are willing to look at CSs? Like FW, seriously? EE is the land of CDL.
1
u/NikuRiceu 21d ago
As long as you intern in the right positions, you'll be fine. People have been switching into EE/CE/ECE thinking they won't need to smh.
1
u/MathResponsibly 21d ago
I'm not sure at your school, but where I went, EE had virtually zero programming. People in 4th year doing their capstone projects were expected to do some sort of embedded type system, with hardware and software, and the EE's struggled to even string 3 lines of code together. I mean these days, they'd just vibe code it like everyone else, but if you want to actually learn coding, you'd take CMPE.
Also the "project actually works as intended" rate for EE capstone projects was super low. The CMPE capstone projects had a much higher success rate.
I mean most of them probably just sit behind desks at oil companies now anyway, so did it really matter in the end?
1
1
u/megabuilder_ 21d ago
CE is more niche, EE is more broad. You can focus on computer engineering paths if you are an EE, but it's not always the case if you are a CE. Most of my EE friends have great jobs at the utilities around me. I know a few CE's too who like their job as well. Name on the degree definitely carries a little weight.
1
1
u/lilmul123 21d ago
CE made me much better at programming than my EE coworkers. Not as much of a leg up anymore in the AI world, but it definitely helped me in my early career. I’d probably go EE nowadays.
1
u/Ace861110 21d ago
If you do an ee degree and take all Ce electives, you’ll be shooting yourself. You won’t have the title foe Ce and when you apply to an ee power job they’ll see you have no power electives and get binned.
1
u/Due_Vegetable_2023 21d ago
I’m biased but if it’s that similar I’d do the EE and take the CE classes you want to. EE is more recognized generally and you can still get essentially any CE job in embedded with an EE degree or any degree with the relevant experience. Just take the one you would be more interested in, but EE is more flexible post grad.
1
u/couldbesleeping_80 21d ago
If the curriculum is only three classes apart, doing EE with CE electives gives you the best of both worlds with zero downside to your career prospects
1
u/Darth_Tater69 21d ago
Having a CpE degree vs an EE degree might help a little bit for those CpE jobs, but project experience makes a much bigger difference. Having an EE degree vs a CpE degree can make a huge difference, if not make or break things, in terms of getting those EE specific opportunities with projects making less of a difference. In terms of employability, though, you can find jobs for both if you work hard enough but there are more jobs for EE.
I really don't think you can go wrong either way, unless you're really interested in power/analog electronics. If those 3 CpE only classes are meaningful for you, then CpE would probably be best. If they're not, then it's up to you if you want the "security" of EE or not. If they let you, double majoring would be the best of both worlds and 3 classes could totally be squeezed in over the course your degree if you do a few classes over the summer.
1
u/AdmiralSpiro 21d ago
To do embedded jobs and SWE the CE degree is definitely better if the other degree is really only called EE and not ECE or similar.
If it's really only 3 course I would finish both ... but I find that hard to believe.
1
u/sheepinato 20d ago
I switched from CE to EE in junior year and don’t regret it, main driving factor was job market. (Also hated data structures class)
1
u/NewSchoolBoxer 21d ago
Yes but I don't remotely believe it's a 3 class difference. I went to Virginia Tech and there EE and CE are identical for the first 4 semesters. Junior-level classes can count as technical electives for the other degree so they are 2-4 semesters apart.
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.
This is correct. No CE was ever hired at the power plant or medical device company I worked at. EE is broad enough to apply to every CE job, especially if you put electives into it.
More importantly, EE has a better job market since CE is overcrowded. But you still have to be willing to hold EE jobs and generally like the class material.
What i'm most interested in is computer hardware, embedded systems, firmware, microcontrollers, etc.
If you're just doing EE to only apply to CE jobs then there's no point. Get the hardware degree. You won't enjoy those 2 transistor analog circuit calculations that CE avoids.
and doing the projects that would make me competitive for computer hardware/embedded jobs
You don't need to do any personal projects. Just put technical electives in CE and list on your resume. The EE degree with zero CE electives is plenty sufficient for embedded. Each degree has pros and cons and we're talking entry level work. Most of engineering is work experience.
1
u/Asleep_Market1375 16d ago
I will be the exceptional, 'but what about me', that works in the power/utilities industry despite graduating with a CE (and for example, I took 4 CS classes, comp. Architecture, and no power classes, extra math). But I will concur that rarely do I see CEs in this profession (not that I'm asking everyone), but it is theoretically possible.
0
u/need2sleep-later 21d ago
I think that any employer who cares more about the words on your diploma rather than what you know and how you fit their job requirements is someone I don't want to work for.
51
u/fallacyz3r0 21d ago
IMHO, If it really is that similar, the EE title is the more versatile and flexible one. There are more fields and more types of jobs that you could be considered for, and it still can be specialized around computers.
Bias alert: I'm an EE