16 Replies - 5477 Views - Last Post: 03 March 2008 - 08:45 AM
#1
Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 02 February 2008 - 12:04 AM
I'm still a high-school student, and I am wondering if I should major in EECS for college. I currently really enjoy programming and am learning PHP/MySQL on my own while learning Java in APCS at my school. I heard that EECS has one of the highest drop rates in college because many people find out that they liked only the programming aspect and not computer science.
All I basically know is that programming is a relatively low-level job, while computer science is more abstract, dealing with algorithms or security.
Could someone please clarify the two differences for me so I have a better idea whether majoring in EECS is right for me?
Thanks in advance!
Replies To: Programming vs. Computer Science
#2
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 02 February 2008 - 01:27 AM
#3
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 02 February 2008 - 05:31 AM
Computer Science, as it's generally taught, will be heavy on theory, which can be useful. And, heavy on math, which is far less useful, IMHO. Regardless of the importance you put on such things, that's what you're likely to get. I believe computer science should be heaviest on logic and critical thinking. Alas, I don't believe anyone teaches critical thinking, or perhaps it can't be taught?
That said, the basics of computer science are pretty fundamental. Any curriculum that's computer based should give you the core stuff. The specifics of computers are always a moving target, anyway.
thenovices, on 2 Feb, 2008 - 02:04 AM, said:
Computer Science is major offered in schools. Jobs are jobs. In any job you find someone with a CS degree, you'll find people with other degrees as well. For the specifics, algorithms are the joy of the math types. Security is real world software and has little to do with theory. In theory, software can exist without security issues.
As for the low-level job, who cares? Do something that you enjoy; you'll have to do it every day of your life. All starter jobs are low-level. Once you move out of the trenches, the pay is good; though generally not as good as some computer rags would have you believe.
#4
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 02 February 2008 - 02:27 PM
What would someone working in computer science do? Would they be doing more design/algorithm stuff rather than a normal programmer just writing out the code after given all the documentation?
#5
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 02 February 2008 - 02:31 PM
#6
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 02 February 2008 - 02:35 PM
It all depends.
Say, when I was taking my computer science classes, I really learned programming.
In other words, if someone wanna know what exactly is offered in some course, then u better contact this particular dept or whatever college/University to get more info about the course.
I have some mates who took programming courses and as they told me there was no difference between those 2 areas of IT (cs & programming, but CS IMHO is more about PCs in general, algorithms, etc).
Though, again, it may vary from college to college.
This post has been edited by davegeek: 02 February 2008 - 02:36 PM
#7
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 05 February 2008 - 06:04 AM

Having a piece of paper that says computer science (or computer engineering, or computer and information science, etc...) does not mean that you can't program, or run networks, so on and so forth. It allows future employers to see that you are trainable and have the capacity to learn. College degrees are there to make yourself more valuable in the marketplace.
--KYA
#8
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 15 February 2008 - 07:28 AM
I'm horrible with math and not looking forward to that aspect of Computer Science. So say I just want to be a Programmer. I want to code stuff in C++ or whatever is the programming language used today. How do I I get into that? I ask cause the colleges around here all have Computer Science with mostly math and classes on theory and Object Orientation but I don't see any classes on Javascripting, C++, C#. So where or how do I learn that? Is that a specialist school or something?
#9
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 15 February 2008 - 04:06 PM
#10
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 15 February 2008 - 06:17 PM
Quote
I'm horrible with math and not looking forward to that aspect of Computer Science. So say I just want to be a Programmer. I want to code stuff in C++ or whatever is the programming language used today. How do I I get into that? I ask cause the colleges around here all have Computer Science with mostly math and classes on theory and Object Orientation but I don't see any classes on Javascripting, C++, C#. So where or how do I learn that? Is that a specialist school or something?
Most computer science/computer and information science, any derivative of that major has theory, programming, math, OOP, etc... to make you a well rounded individual.

--kya
This post has been edited by KYA: 15 February 2008 - 06:19 PM
#11
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 16 February 2008 - 07:50 PM
KYA, on 15 Feb, 2008 - 06:17 PM, said:
Quote
I'm horrible with math and not looking forward to that aspect of Computer Science. So say I just want to be a Programmer. I want to code stuff in C++ or whatever is the programming language used today. How do I I get into that? I ask cause the colleges around here all have Computer Science with mostly math and classes on theory and Object Orientation but I don't see any classes on Javascripting, C++, C#. So where or how do I learn that? Is that a specialist school or something?
Most computer science/computer and information science, any derivative of that major has theory, programming, math, OOP, etc... to make you a well rounded individual.

--kya
Ok cool.. so when you went to University and majored in Computer Science you took classes in C++ or Java (or both or some other programming language?)
I'm just curious how the whole process works. In a few months I'll be deciding if I want to do that or if I want to do Web Developement or something else entirely.
#12
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 16 February 2008 - 09:27 PM
#13
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 17 February 2008 - 11:16 PM
I suppose computer science would be more like designing the product, doing stuff about security, finding the algorithms for the product, etc.
Thats just my impression of the difference, don't know if its right or not.
#14
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 18 February 2008 - 05:45 AM
#15
Re: Programming vs. Computer Science
Posted 18 February 2008 - 10:39 AM
I am a current IT/CS major, and in my college, University of Phoenix, I am learning more programming than anything. My current class, Programming Concepts, was all programming in C. I will also be learning Java, C++, HTML, XML, IT Security, and a bunch of other things. I HATE math, to the point that I still can not remember which sign is for greater than, and less than, but I am carrying a 3.0, and have almost completed 2 years. So as I have noticed being said in this forum, it is all dependant on the college that the individual is in. On a side note, my company wants to send me to get certified in Object-Oriented programming, and SQL/Database programming since I use them the most.