Software Engineering vs. Computer Science

HEY! I''m from Calgary too!

Don''t got any advice for ya yet though. I''m still in High School.

Look at http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=88417

I''m a Computer Science Major.

I''ve talken a few Software Engineering courses, but my school doesn''t have it as a major.

I would imagine that both majors overlap some. My guess would be that Software Engineering is more business oriented which would allow you to work with more traditional business driven software development. Computer Science is more geared towards more abstract scientific development. A degree in Computer Science will enable you to do more problem solving while a degree in Software Engineering will probably be more for development.

CS- Write a program that extracts data and analysis it
SE- Design a gui and framework for an data analysis program

I figure it''s more about what you plan to do in game development. If you want to get a job with a big developer where you simply work on parts of a project, software engineering would probably be the way to go since you will be better suited to work on a big project and work within a group. However if you plan on trying to develop software yourself, either individually or for a small company then Computer Science would be the way to go.

The other option is going for a double major (I don''t know if this is an option for you).

Or take courses for both majors and once you find the one you like more choose that as a major and just keep the other as a minor.

I can''t see how there could be any significant difference between the two undergrad degrees - SE has got to be a CS with some electives chosen for you.

You''re simply not in a position to start learning SE until you already know a good deal of CS. SE is about designing and planning software, and you can''t do that if you don''t know how to make software. And without CS knowledge, making good software is well-neigh impossible. You''ll either hack it together, or discover CS knowledge on your own (or more likely, both).

Neither degree is going to completely prepare you for "the real world", game programming or otherwise, you have to do additional work on your own.

In term of employability, I don''t think it matters much. Right off the start, about 20% of everything everyone learns in college is the same, no matter what your major is. As soon as you decide on a technical degree, about 50% is the same. EE & CS is about 60% the same, and both are acceptable majors for many jobs. You''re comparing CS & SE, which have to be about 90% the same.

Magmai Kai Holmlor

"Oh, like you''ve never written buggy code" - Lee

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