picking a major (SE vs CS)

[KnockAr0und]

Hey guys - I need your help !

 

I'm currently a high school junior, and I want to be a software engineer, but I don't know exactly what to choose.

◘ What is the difference between computer science and software engineering?

◘ can somebody with a CS degree be called a software engineer?

◘ who are employers looking for now, or should I say Who are more successful? people with a CS degree or SE? How do you think it will change in the next 5 years?

 

I'm really nervous about this and I hope you guys can clear out the mist that surrounds me with anything concerning software engineering.

[Sigthror]

Yes, a good friend of mine has his BS in computer science and is referred to as a software engineer. This is mere speculation since I am not entirely familiar with the field, but I would say that computer science is an extremely broad and general field containing every aspect of software developing, testing, analyzing, network administrating, and so forth, while software engineering would be one specific area, targeting software development, systems, design, etc. If you would like to know more specifically about Software Engineering just let me know and I could ask my friend about it.

[D H]

Computer science is concerned with the fundamentals of computing. Software engineering is concerned with applying the techniques developed under the guise of computer science to real-world problems, particular to BIG problems.

 

This is a bit overbroad. The two topics overlap considerably. Many colleges don't have software engineering departments, instead placing software engineering as a subtopic of computer science. The basics for computer science and software engineering are very similar. If you go to a school that offers both degrees, you could easily switch from one to another up until you junior year.

[D H]

The two largest professional organizations involved with computing technologies, the ACM and the IEEE, jointly developed recommended curricula for computer science, software engineering, computer engineering, and information technology. You can find these curricula at this site: http://www.acm.org/education/curricula.html.

 

Looking at these curricula might help you decide whichway you want to go. There is not very much overlap between the curricula. These fields have become quite distinct domains of study.

[Klaynos]

My brother has a BSc in computer science, and his job title is software engineer, and he feels that fits what he does quite well.

[bascule]

who are employers looking for now

 

If that's your concern, software engineering is probably the better way to go.

 

If you're interested in the theory behind programming itself (semiotics) and the theory behind how computer programs accomplish tasks (algorithmics), CS is the way to go.