4 ms·

I'm curious what the "computer science" equivalent in the engineering world would be. All of the engineering majors study a particular type of engineering: mec

I'm curious what the "computer science" equivalent in the engineering world would be. All of the engineering majors study a particular type of engineering: mechanical, electrical, computer, construction. There's no "engineering science" program that I'm aware of that would teach the theory behind engineering and award a degree just for that. Instead, the engineering student must understand that way of thinking simultaneously while learning the practical components of the degree (analyzing free-body diagram forces, producing printed circuit boards, building physical objects for competitions, etc).

na85 12y ago
>There's no "engineering science" program that I'm aware of that would teach the theory behind engineering and award a degree just for that Actually the University of Toronto offers an "Eng Sci" program that is exactly this. They offer it alongside their regular engineering program. A guy I went to high school with dropped out of the eng sci program because it was "too theoretical" for him and he wanted a more practical education.
- karmelapple 12y ago
  Do you know what the typical career path is for someone with an undergrad in this? Academia?
neltnerb 12y ago
I'm not sure I follow, but I think you're describing a Ph.D. in the specified engineering discipline. I would describe getting a Ph.D. in an engineering field as studying the fundamental science of the process of engineering.
VLM 12y ago
Life is simple in chemistry land, without as much doublespeak as in computer land. In chemistry land, the chemists daydream and theorize and apply massive creativity. The ChemEng implement known ideas as cheaply and safely as possible on huge scale, which turns out to be ridiculously hard. The process techs and lab techs pretty much just follow orders. Computer engineering is, or used to be, a hybrid of EE and CS. More compiler / assembly work than OO design. More control system theory (PID controllers and the like) than database theory. There is a modern variant of what CE is, along the engineer is the accountant/project manager of the sciences. And its often called "software engineer". So a project manager who knows programming.
svachalek 12y ago
As others have said there are in fact general engineering degrees, they called it ESM at my university. But as someone who took both EE and CS courses, I wouldn't consider the EE to be particularly more "vocational training" than the CS. I think it's more of a level thing; higher-ranked universities will tend to be more theoretical and take umbrage at being thought of as vocational training. More prestigious companies will also interview more for your grasp of theory than your skill bullets. E.G. Facebook is a PHP shop but when I interviewed there they didn't ask a single PHP question. I bet they never do.
sp332 12y ago
They would probably study some form of math or maybe theoretical physics, which is basically just math ;)
- selimthegrim 12y ago
  Many schools offer an engineering physics degree - Toronto, Berkeley, Tulane, Columbia (I think)

na85 12y ago

>There's no "engineering science" program that I'm aware of that would teach the theory behind engineering and award a degree just for that Actually the University of Toronto offers an "Eng Sci" program that is exactly this. They offer it alongside their regular engineering program. A guy I went to high school with dropped out of the eng sci program because it was "too theoretical" for him and he wanted a more practical education.

karmelapple 12y ago
Do you know what the typical career path is for someone with an undergrad in this? Academia?

neltnerb 12y ago

I'm not sure I follow, but I think you're describing a Ph.D. in the specified engineering discipline. I would describe getting a Ph.D. in an engineering field as studying the fundamental science of the process of engineering.

VLM 12y ago

Life is simple in chemistry land, without as much doublespeak as in computer land. In chemistry land, the chemists daydream and theorize and apply massive creativity. The ChemEng implement known ideas as cheaply and safely as possible on huge scale, which turns out to be ridiculously hard. The process techs and lab techs pretty much just follow orders. Computer engineering is, or used to be, a hybrid of EE and CS. More compiler / assembly work than OO design. More control system theory (PID controllers and the like) than database theory. There is a modern variant of what CE is, along the engineer is the accountant/project manager of the sciences. And its often called "software engineer". So a project manager who knows programming.

svachalek 12y ago

As others have said there are in fact general engineering degrees, they called it ESM at my university. But as someone who took both EE and CS courses, I wouldn't consider the EE to be particularly more "vocational training" than the CS. I think it's more of a level thing; higher-ranked universities will tend to be more theoretical and take umbrage at being thought of as vocational training. More prestigious companies will also interview more for your grasp of theory than your skill bullets. E.G. Facebook is a PHP shop but when I interviewed there they didn't ask a single PHP question. I bet they never do.

sp332 12y ago

They would probably study some form of math or maybe theoretical physics, which is basically just math ;)

selimthegrim 12y ago
Many schools offer an engineering physics degree - Toronto, Berkeley, Tulane, Columbia (I think)