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Comment by ue_ | Hacker News Reader

I wanted to do Compsci at university (I'm in my second term of my first year now), but I missed out by a few marks. I was offered Electronic and Computer Engineering (which is what I'm doing now at a UK uni), though the kind of jobs I want to do are almost entirely programming, and not necessarily embedded programming.

I don't know what my job prospects are like; hell, I don't even know what electronic engineers do.

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Unless you were applying for Oxbridge I'd consider EE/CE a harder degree than plain CompSci. You'll probably do a lot more maths and modelling, and less CS essentials like standard algos and compiler design.

IMO anyone who can master control theory, data compression, RF design, and/or analog filter design should have no problem picking up algos and compiler theory relatively quickly.

Many of the engineers I've worked with in the UK carry EE degrees (I'm unsure how different this is to electronic and computer engineering). It's certainly not seen as a bad thing or a reason to not get interviews compared to a pure CS degree from my experience.

I graduated with a degree in electronic and computer engineering in 1996 in the U.K.

We did minimal software: a bit of Ada, Prolog, Z and Occam, 6502 assembler. Nothing substantial really. Tons of math, analog electronics and microprocessor design.

I had a deep interest in electronics but went straight into software development. The degree gave me a valuable foundation, it has been tremendously useful at various points in my career. And in side-projects. It gave me an understanding of what lies beneath. And a skillset that many software dev contemporaries did not have. Some of the most interesting software is the stuff that connects to the physical world.

Never worked in the UK. Spent a bunch of time in Germany now I'm in California, via Massachusetts.

I wouldn't worry :-)

Thank you for your insight. My worry is more to do with fear of not being able to make my 40% pass mark for this year. There's simply so much to know and learn, from the analogue (which I find the hardest) to the programming (which I find the easiest). Unfortunately the analogue stuff is the highest weighted out of all of the modules.

Plenty of developers come out of non CS degrees, enjoy your degree, it will give you a more in depth understanding on computational substrates (electronics) which is a good advantage. On the other hand... you should do your self a favour and take some Algo courses in coursera or elsewhere if you really want to pursue a purer developer career. It will leave you better positioned when you graduate.

EE & CE are very good courses for programmers, as they give a really strong understanding of the underlying platform.

However, if you're doing ECE and don't know what electronic engineers do, something is wrong.

To be fair, engineering students in any discipline not knowing what engineers actually do is not uncommon, and might even be the majority case.

An explanation for the lay person of why this is.

Engineering degrees typically start off with a couple of years of general science education, with minimal contact with the engineering faculty. It's often not until halfway though the degree that the engineers branch off from the science students, into engineering specific courses, and find out what makes an engineer different to a scientist.

Not entirely true - at least from my experience studying in Australia. The first year of my degree was about a 50/50 split between the Engineering faculty and other faculties subsequent years were almost entirely (95%+) engineering faculty.

Year 1 was courses like: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Statistics, Physics, Chemistry, intro to comp sci (non eng faculty) Statics/Dynamics, intro to Electrical eng., intro to Materials, Engineering Management (eng faculty)

Years 2-4 were devoted to your specific engineering major there was some cross major subjects. I.e I majored in materials engineering I Studied fluid Dynamics and Welding alongside mech eng students, studied Benefication alongside mining engineers. Solid mechanics was with civil engineers.

The course was pretty tightly proscribed we got very little choice in terms of electives. I took one elective outside of the engineering faculty and that was in my fourth year (particle physics).

You'll be just fine.

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