Elysian Shadows

Aeolus wrote:

Aeolus wrote:
Oh and whats better and whats the difference between Computer Science and Computer Engineering.

I edited that right as you replied.

Somebody find this man the huge ass topic where we had this discussion.

I'm the only "Computer Engineering" major here, as far as I know. Peter and Marcel are also going CPE. Everybody else here is pretty much Computer Science. But yeah, this is an ever-so-popular question on these boards.

Well i notices in alot of threads you guys talk about CPE and CS like its a debate. I always thought you guys were joking about it and i didnt know why it was funny so i didnt say anything.

Looking at your CPE link i like the classes. They look exactly like what im interested in taking.

I completely agree with the point about taking a solid CS/engineering degree.

The institution I'm attending offers both (although to be fair, the British system doesn't have different fees, they're all the same everywhere) traditional CS degrees but also many specialist game development degrees. Now as far as I know, most of the people in my computing class went to the open day and went to see courses such as Computer game science, and especially computer game animation, I was the only guy who took the computer science tour! (well the second group I think, but you get my point), because I know that a computer science degree is a solid qualification, which is recognised by the industry. I've also been told I could get a great placement in my 3rd year because they have more placements than students! (something I doubt would happen in the oversubscribed computer game courses)

So although I can't comment on the whole "they're just trying to take your money" comment, however I can agree that a computer science degree is a solid, industry-recognised qualification that companies will take seriously.

Yeah, it's something that every company will take seriously. I work for the Redstone Arsenal out here in Alabama. I'm a government contractor for the Army. I have a security clearance and all that fancy bullshit. Should I choose to continue working in this field after I graduate, I can hop on as government rather quickly and start to make huge pay increases. They government also gives great benefits.

But I can also say screw that entire mess and try my hand at breaking into the industry.

Heh, the difference between Computer Science and Computer Engineering....besides the 20x higher drop-out rate for engineers? :D
I kid, well...I'm not kidding in that both programs DO tend to have very high drop-out rates. This is typically because people enter with little or no prior experience from high school or what have you and do not really understand what they're getting into. I will grant you that it is a very challenging course of study regardless. The difference will depend on where you study, but most commonly the major difference is that Engineering will load you with more EE (Electronics Engineering) courses, and CIS (Computer Information Systems) will load you with more systems management, structured programming, and top down design.

Falco hit on a point that I did not and that is a BCSE or similar (Bachelor of Computer Science & Engineering) degree will afford you other options down the road should the game programming thing not work out. This is a BIG factor to consider, because while with the right drive, focus and attitude you can make a name for yourself in the games industry, the statistics would not be in your favor for working out.

It's kind of interesting that Falco works for a government contractor. A fellow I worked with at Terminal Reality on a few projects was a computer engineer for the Army and his experience there proved invaluable for physics simulations in games. So his experience in the Army is what ultimately gave him unique skills practical for game development. It's always interesting to see how people get where they are.

So from all this, hopefully you can see that it goes all ways! A good engineer will be valuable wherever technical problems need to be solved, however a game developer is of virtually no use to anyone outside the game development arena.

Yeah, so i searched colleges that offered undergrad in CS and CPE degrees in seattle and i go University of Washington, Seattle university, South Pacific university, and University of Puget Sound.

One question that is related to the topic then (just so I don't make a new thread xD)

Is Computer Science(Engineering) one of these two? or something else... I always thought it was CS, but like two posts above this, someone said "The higher drop out rate for engineers) and that threw me off a bit...

So are these two BOTH a type of engineering?

Because I've been planning on taking Computer Science(Engineering)...

First off what do you mean by "computer science (engineering)"?

Second, computer science (CS) and computer engineering (CPE) are two different things. CS is more oriented toward the actual programming, while CPE is a combination of CS and Electrical Engineering (EE). With CPE, you not only learn how to program a computer, you also learn how to make one/learn how it works (at least that's my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong ).

Different programs call them differently. However, you can be assured there are generally 3 distinctions, and that is between CS, CIS, and CSE which is Computer Science, Computer Infosys, and Computer Science/Engineering. CIS is more or less top level software design, networking, and systems/database management. CSE is loaded heavily with EE, which is semiconductor engineering, integrated circuits, microcontroller fabrication, and more ASM/C level code (more and more devices are supporting C code natively). With CS being somewhere in the middle.

XianForce wrote: So are these two BOTH a type of engineering?

My Computer Science major makes me a member of my university's College of Engineering.

Ok so:

Cs: Programming

CPE: Electrical engineering / programming

?

CS: middle-high level programming.
CPE: low-level programming and circuit fabrication

programmerinprogress wrote:CS: middle-high level programming.
CPE: low-level programming and circuit fabrication

Correct. Think of CPE as the midpoint between CS and Electrical Engineering.

GyroVorbis wrote:

programmerinprogress wrote:CS: middle-high level programming.
CPE: low-level programming and circuit fabrication

Correct. Think of CPE as the midpoint between CS and Electrical Engineering.

So taking CPE gives you the skills you would need in EITHER field? Hardware AND/OR Software?

XianForce wrote:

GyroVorbis wrote:

programmerinprogress wrote:CS: middle-high level programming.
CPE: low-level programming and circuit fabrication

Correct. Think of CPE as the midpoint between CS and Electrical Engineering.

So taking CPE gives you the skills you would need in EITHER field? Hardware AND/OR Software?

Yeah I was wondering the same thing, because I like all the low level stuff and would love to work with hardware. The only reason I was leaning towards CE is because I thought it would be better for getting in a game programming job, or maybe client stuff for an office job... So should I think more about CPE???
Darn these tough life changing decisions...