I think that the most interesting question on Philosophy Behind Coding Instagram is what major we should choose in University. Of course, I can’t answer this question for you, but I can give you some interesting facts and ideas from my point of view.
At the time of making this video, I am at the end of my university studies in Electrical and Computer Engineering. So we are working on both hardware and software development with focus on the computer science part.
From my perspective, I started working in Programming when I was 11 years old and I think that it is totally possible for people that are even younger to start working in programming, taking courses and in general hustle if they want to work in this industry.
After 7 years of intense programming, it was an easy choice to major in computer science.
But there are many differences between Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science.
At the core of these majors, you will learn about programming and how computers work. But there are very important differences. In Electrical and Computer Engineering, we first work for a year or two with math and physics in order to build a strong foundation and understand about Magnetic field and its properties, differential equations, linear algebra and many more. Then we start working with digital circuits and computer science. Finally, we choose between CS, Energy and telecommunication fields.
Of course, I chose Computer Science; we work with Parallel Programming, Automation Control Systems, Robotics, Digital Boards, Oscilloscopes, and this is only a small portion of our curriculum.
The main reason that I give you an idea of my University studies is to understand the difference and the amount of knowledge you need to build in a University that has two majors: the computer engineering and the electrical engineering. For this reason, it takes about 5 years to graduate and it is fairly difficult to accomplish this with high grades.
On the other hand, if you choose to major in computer science, it takes definitely fewer years. In addition, it is more focused and you can go to a great depth in programming and computer studies in general.
I have chosen this field because I had a solid background in programming from my early years and at the same time I worked on different projects with my professor outside the University curriculum. So I absorbed the deep and focused knowledge in computer science that I couldn’t take from my University.
So the question for you is if you want to have focused or broad studies. Also if you are interested in both fields. And if you want to combine them together for example with Robotics, where you need both hardware and software.
Full disclaimer: this is only the information that I have from my University. I strongly recommend that you do your own research and use this video as a starting point only.
I would love it if you take time and write down in the comments your opinion, what you want to study, or what are the differences in your university curriculum.