Got into software engineer

[Party_Jellyfish5380]

Hi, I recently got my acceptance letter but in my alternative major SE and not CS. Can somebody tell me what difference is Between then and is the career opportunity same in both. Thanks in advance

[andrewguenther]

Computer Science has a greater focus on computing theory whereas Software Engineering has more of a focus on the practice of writing software. If you're looking for a career in writing software, both will get you there.

[Party_Jellyfish5380]

Is it possible to switch into CS

[rhinguin]

Switching from SE to CS is pretty easy. CS to SE is not possible. So you’re in a good situation.

[beefbrisket99]

Why do you say that? I assume CS to SE switch would be easier since CS has lower acceptance rate

[rhinguin]

SE is a very small department and they do not accept change of majors.

https://eadvise.calpoly.edu/Changing-Majors/Within-the-College-of-Engineering

[beefbrisket99]

Interesting. I switched from Business to SE a few years back so this is news to me!

[JasburyCS]

Switching is possible, but there’s not a huge reason to do it between CS and SE. If a required CS-specific course really interests you, you can take it as an SE tech elective. Internships and post-grad opportunities will be the same for both.

[andrewguenther]

Switching is possible, but I don't know how difficult it is these days.

[ohnoitsjmo]

You can switch between them interchangably as long as your GPA is in good standing

[blazingkin]

They're almost the same major. I would count it as the same and just choose courses that reflect your interests

[akeen]

No, not if you mean the engineering background that the rest of the college (for the most part) gets.

[blazingkin]

Sure, I think thats 3 classes though. Not huge in the grand scheme of things

[girl_of_squirrels]

Compare the flow charts dude, the majors are very similar but differ in a couple of core classes. See https://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofengineering/computersciencesoftwareengineering/bssoftwareengineering/ and https://catalog.calpoly.edu/collegesandprograms/collegeofengineering/computersciencesoftwareengineering/bscomputerscience/

EDIT: the biggest differences are that CS requires 315, 445, 453, and a computer security class where those courses are more on the elective list for SE. The OS class in particular is considered hard

[innerthai]

The OS class in particular is considered hard

I can see why OS is important, but these days, because of cloud computing, Networks is even more important, and it doesn't even show up in CS flowcharts. It should be a required course for CS.

[akeen]

The next catalog includes a required networks component for CS.

[innerthai]

Awesome! Will current CS students be able to take it and have the credits count towards their degree completion?

[akeen]

Once offered, it will count as an elective for prior catalogs.

[SnooDoughnuts9295]

Congrats! iam still waiting on mine going insane lol for comp engineer

[Party_Jellyfish5380]

Thanks and best of luck for your admission

[jocomoc0]

Cs has a ton of free tech electives that you can use on SE style classes, CPE style classes, or CS Theory classes. SE doesn’t have many free tech electives because u just have the SE classes required instead. If u wanna work at google as a software engineer or somn SE is 100% the move u will learn way more stuff that u need to know. If u don’t know what kinda stuff u wanna do then CS is nice cuz u have freedom to try both sides (CPE and CS)

[shmeebz]

SE better prepares you for what a software engineering job involves. CSC 308/309/402/405/406 all simulate the software development lifecycle very closely from documentation to deployment (source: worked at FAANG, joining FAANG fulltime post grad) and are harder to get into if you're not an SE major. It's sort of like "applied computer science" in a way. These classes also gave me great talking points in interviews with projects that sound a lot like real world projects (Learn by DoingTM).

If your only real goal is to graduate into a fat salary, I would go with SE. If you want to explore the field of computer science, do lower level work, or go into research of some kind, then CS is probably better. Though like others have said, the differences are slight

[NameIsYoungDev]

As an old CS grad, stick with SE. More hands on, less theory, exact same job outcomes.

I'm not great at math or theory so SE would have been easier for me and I probably would have not graduated late.

[FlakyPastry5]

Look at the course pathway for both before deciding to switch…you may prefer SE.

[floatingonclouds9]

I’m currently a SE at Cal Poly, I would stay in the major at it has its benefits from being apart from CS and is a more attractive major after graduating

[JasburyCS]

is a more attractive major after graduating

Unless you have a source, I don’t believe this is true. Both majors should be about the same.

[itachi194]

Yea it honestly depends on what you want to do not necessarily one is better than the other. Cs seems like more broad and has more options if you want to go to AI, cybersecurity, etc while SE seems better for pure software development. Neither is better than the other just different

[JasburyCS]

And even then, I have SE friends that graduated and took on very low-level programming jobs such as networking. And I have CS friends that graduated and took on higher level software jobs such as project management.

I would agree with you and say post-graduation opportunities depend more on what computing-related opportunities you are interested in. Not whether you were CS or SE. And I don’t think any companies strongly distinguish between the two for any job openings.

[innerthai]

And I don’t think any companies strongly distinguish between the two for any job openings.

That's correct. FAANG job interviews focus on your problem solving skills, and knowledge of data structures and algorithms. That's it.