Declaring a major...

[clarisse]

So the time to declare my major has finally come... and even though I can still change it later on I would like some advice possibly from people in the fields I am considering.

 

So when I entered college (this year, I am a freshman) I thought I would major in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, leaning much more towards the Computer Science area. However, the requirements for the major are quite strongly Electrical Engineering oriented and I am unsure whether this would make me unhappy later with my choice of major. I therefore have another option that I had never considered before which is Mathematics with Computer Science. I would have to take many more math classes than I ever thought I would but I can choose to take the computer classes that interest me the most (all more theoretical than applied I suppose, like logic and algorithms.)

 

While there are many things that I am taking into consideration I have been thinking about the job and career opportunities I would have after graduation. I suppose that here we have mathematicians, computer scientists, electrical engineers and a combination of these and I was wondering whether any of you (or anyone else who would like to), could give me any ideas, advice and possibly tell me about your experience in your field and how you made your decision.

[Ipse]

I really don't know anything about this field what so ever but if you'll allow me to do a little speculation. There is clearly a reason why your college has divided this degree into two different fields. One being electrical engineering and the other being mathematics. Its seems that this dichotomy correlates directly with the two different realms in which computers exist, namely hardware and software. You simply have to decide which you would prefer to work in.

 

since i dont know anything else about the field thats all i can offer

[Genecks]

Do what you like vs. do what will get you money.

If you can find a way to make both of them work, do so.

Few things seem cheerful after the first two years.

 

Me?

 

I couldn't really care about whether I go for the B.S in biochem/MB/chem... I'll do molecular biology, but I'll hope to have the bachelor's level of knowledge that the the biochem and chem majors.

 

I'm thinking I'd hire someone with an extensive knowledge of engineering, programming, and mathematics. Programming and math is like CAD, engineering, and "theoretical" computations. Make me a program that shows what the chemical reaction would look like in real life. The "Folding at home" project is somewhat like this, in my opinion. If you track whatever google funds for the summer of code, those are examples, too. I thought about joining something for ~$4000 USD but decided against it.

 

I think that with electrical engineering says, "Make me a robot that mixes chemicals. Afterwards, make the robot do a quantitative analysis on the processed materials, so I can see how efficient the robot is."

 

If you did your job right, I say, "Good, now I can collect things from a junk yard and the robot will recycle them. Here is your paycheck. Punch out."

 

Booyah.

 

To say the least, what you're going to do will take a good amount of all those fields: math, computer science, and engineering

 

I'm more concerned about the master's program, which where people say, "Crunch time, fool. Time to apply all you possess."

 

My view is that we need programmers with a lot of math knowledge.

 

What skills do you want?

 

"The forced curriculum I involved myself allows me to know this and that."

 

What skills do you want your degree to prove?

 

"This piece of paper says I can do this and that."

 

What job do you want?

 

"I know these things, so I should be able to do the job."

 

What Master's program do you want?

 

"I want a new piece of paper to say I'm smart AND creative."

 

Pretty much moving up the ladder means you get the bachelor's, which will hopefully be applied to a master's in/around/relating-to that field.

 

What do you want to leave with?

 

-- You'll have to figure that out.

 

What more, afterwards, do you want to gain?

 

Those will be some key questions.

 

 

My view?

 

Computer science and mathematics major. (knowledge of theory)

 

EE minor. (knowledge of application)

 

My true view? If it were me?

 

I wouldn't go to school for any of those. I'd choose physics major with a chemistry minor.