3 ms·

Computer Engineering is generally hardware and firmware design, something that is becoming less and less important as generalized processors have become smaller

by tghw 15y ago

Computer Engineering is generally hardware and firmware design, something that is becoming less and less important as generalized processors have become smaller, cheaper, and more powerful. At this point, almost everything can be done in software, so a Computer Science degree is more important. Also, your Audi/Mercedes analogy is flawed. Physicists and engineers are very different, and if they needed more engineers, they would sponsor engineering schools. Right now we need more software developers, so training kids in Computer Science makes complete sense. Some schools (including my alma mater) do provide a separate Software Engineering degree, but they generally overlap so much with CS as to be virtually indistinguishable. It's also somewhat laughable to call Software Engineering "engineering", as there is a general lack of rigor and no formal qualification for software engineers like there is for every other branch of engineering.

sliverstorm 15y ago
Computer Engineer here- while I would selfishly argue that Computer Science is not more important, the CS field is even now still growing, while our field is contracting. I do not expect ours to ever go away entirely, but the answer is not to make everyone a CE. I think maybe what mjwalshe is thinking about, is the Computer Scientist graduates who cannot even program.
- mjwalshe 15y ago
  yes that's what i was getting at theorys all very well but you need to be able to apply this to real world which is what most employers of programmers want. My first job after school (as a technical programmer) was at an Elite RnmD organistion (our boss was the mechanical engineers president at the time) and I remember I was told one way to think about it is that "engineers" are scientists with thumbs.
eigenvector 15y ago
> Computer Engineering is generally hardware and firmware design, something that is becoming less and less important as generalized processors have become smaller, cheaper, and more powerful. At this point, almost everything can be done in software, so a Computer Science degree is more important. And who, exactly, do you think is designing these new processors?

by tghw 15y ago

sliverstorm 15y ago

Computer Engineer here- while I would selfishly argue that Computer Science is not more important, the CS field is even now still growing, while our field is contracting. I do not expect ours to ever go away entirely, but the answer is not to make everyone a CE. I think maybe what mjwalshe is thinking about, is the Computer Scientist graduates who cannot even program.

mjwalshe 15y ago
yes that's what i was getting at theorys all very well but you need to be able to apply this to real world which is what most employers of programmers want. My first job after school (as a technical programmer) was at an Elite RnmD organistion (our boss was the mechanical engineers president at the time) and I remember I was told one way to think about it is that "engineers" are scientists with thumbs.

eigenvector 15y ago

> Computer Engineering is generally hardware and firmware design, something that is becoming less and less important as generalized processors have become smaller, cheaper, and more powerful. At this point, almost everything can be done in software, so a Computer Science degree is more important. And who, exactly, do you think is designing these new processors?