Computer Engineering - Is it the Same as Computer Science?

Answering the frequently asked question of whether you should opt for Computer Engineering. Listen to my take on the difference between CE and CS.

[mohibullah]

Thanks for guiding the students. I am an electrical engineer, major in electronics. My experience is in programming microcontrollers. Any one who is considering computer engineering as their major, let me tell you a ground reality. It has very little scope in Pakistan. There are many reasons why. Some I have given below,

*) you need to purcahse a dev board to do the prototyping in initial stages. Dev boards are pricy so companies create custom pcb boards to cut costs and that brings us to the next point.
*) you need to design a custon PCB that is bare minumum to your needs to cut costs in later stages; PCB Fabrication, components cost, component assembly cost.
*)Applications of such systems are in military equipments, medical devices, and embedded devices -- a digital alarm clock with many features, for example. As you can see, all these things are physical in nature. Therefore
it requires heavy investments compared to merely building software applications. You also need mechanical design engineers.
*) Normally heavy investment should mean the reward is also greater. But No. In order to compete with international market, your product needs to be extremely good at multitude of things like Quality of PCB, Quality of components, Good PCB design practices, appropriate Electromagnetic compatibility, innovative idea, resource optimized software, and the solution should be the cheapest. Mostly companies are not able to compete at international level. All thanks to our neigbour china. As a result they provide very specific solution and are unable to step into consumer electronics market. Hence they don't earn much money.
*) Very few companies are doing development in Pakistan because of obvious reasons explained earlier -- too much risk, too little reward.
*) Getting remote opportunities is extremely hard because you have to debug problems by hooking oscilloscope or logic analyzer to the hardware to figure out issues. In other words, you have to be onsite to do most of the work.
*)Getting started is difficult. You don't just open youtube, download necessary tools, and start practicing. You need real hardware.
*) Also, lower your salary expectations. Like expect around 80k to 100k after three years of experience.
*) Last but not the least. If you are granted an opportunity to work on technology you have never worked before. Like you work 3 years on microcontrollers such as esp family, AVR, stm32 arm, are good at concurrent programming using rtos, have a track record of delivering projects on time and are asked to work on FPGA based system. Prepare yourself to receive a 40k offer. Because if you won't take it, somebody else will. You need to prioritize learning for a very long period inorder to get good financial outcomes.

[huzaifaali]

Wish I had seen this video 4 years ago. Thanks for guiding the students.

[Studygroup-ysqq]

Nice video sir. Keep making more videos to help us.

[Legacyy_]

JazakAllah. I'm current watching your Intro to Computing playlist, its really really helpful. The way you teach is superb. Even though I'm a complete newcomer to this field yet, I'm able to understand your lectures. May Allah reward you in both Worlds❤

[ra]

I have confusion, too. Really needed this. I am in AI, but wanna know more about this.

[AbdullahAbrar-scpw]

I just want to say that we appreciate your uploads and knowledge! I just am in a weird position where im stuck between choosing Web development or Software Quality Assurance as my career. In serious anxiety regarding this issue. Your guidance would mean alot in this regard. Im currently trying to improve my problem solving via OOP/DSA. I personally want to pursue SQA but the job market seems a bit tough. Hoping to hear from you. May Allah keep you safe and sound, Ameen!

[yasirqayyum]

Thank you, DR!

The video was really helpful. As a fresh computer science graduate from an affiliated college in 2023, I was always unsure about the major differences between the fields, and your explanation clarified a lot.

I’m particularly interested in data science and machine learning rather than web or mobile app development. I completed my final year project in machine learning, and over the past year to year and a half, I’ve dedicated a significant amount of time to this field. However, I haven’t been able to secure a job yet.

Could you please recommend how I can approach this area and improve my chances of finding a job in Peshawar or even in Islamabad? Thank you!

[jamshed]

sir still waiting for the remaining lectures of Computer Networks. the lectures have helped me a lot to better understand the practical concepts 💯💯

[osamaanees]

Pakistan mein scope nahi hai is ka. Silicon na idr AMD hai na Nadia hai. FPGAs banned hn to un ki price bohot zada hai. Good Microcontrollers are pricey. All the graduates in my university are working in CS field. Koi Data Base mien kaam kr raha hai koi web development mein hai.

[ahsanhafeez]

True my friend is doing electrical engineering at paf kiet and university tell them this is their last batch and they will not continue to offer electrical engineering

[NOOBMaster]

sir can u make a video for students who did not got into good universities like fast, nust, gik etc but are determined and hardworking in the field of CS.What pathway should they follow to be unique in this field. jazakAllah.

[LuckiestKing]

Sir kaya BSCS uet sy best he ya koi orr uni choose karu plz guide kr dein

[redreckham]

Sir, isn't it better to know about hardware to get an idea of how things work under the hood if you're a CS major? Doesn't it help in the long run?

[MuhammadUsman-pt]

Assalamualikum!
I have got admission in Bs CS in UET Taxila and also in Bs SE in NUST. I like both fields evenly. I am in touch with a senior who have studied Bs CS from uet taxila and even won a gold medal in 2022. He told me that the syllabus at uet taxila for Bs Cs is very old. I didn't get admission in Bs Cs in NUST but i did get admission in Bs SE in NUST. Now what should I go for?? Either Bs CS from uet taxila or Bs SE from nust??
Sir kindly reply me as soon as possible because i have very short time to choose plz

[muhammadsafiullah]

Please make a detailed video on roadmap for cybersecurity.

[nerd_.]

Sir, In many of your videos, you recommend having a website. Should the website be built using WordPress or coded from scratch? You’ve suggested doing web development in breadth, so it would be sufficient for creating a website?

Also you recommend making projects and posting them there as well. How can I get project ideas? After watching your ITC playlist, I'm unsure what projects I can create with this knowledge. The same goes for the OOP playlist. Why am I struggling to come up with project ideas? When I search for project ideas on Reddit communities, people are suggesting things that I can’t even understand. What are they learning to reach that stage that we are not? Please explain this project thing.

[pro-uklc]

Sir plz can you guide me my university is saying computer science and engineering in their field

[imnemo]

Don't you think characterizing Computer Engineering solely as hardware is a bit misleading? This implies that the focus is **ONLY** on designing analog circuits, digital ICs, or using HDLs to create logic circuits. However, Computer Engineering is an interdisciplinary field with a much broader scope than just hardware. For example, it also makes you eligible for software jobs, especially in areas close to the hardware, such as firmware, also known as bare metal programming. Additionally, embedded systems are a significant part of the field and are themselves very broad. Other than that there is IoT which is a growing field nowadays.
A thing to notice here is that most of the CS students don't qualify for these domains due to their lack of eelctronics knowledge.

Also, your introduction implied that Computer Engineering is a new field, which isn't accurate. Berkeley's EECS is well-known and has been around for many years. MIT also offers an EE+CS program (recently renamed to Electrical Engineering with Computer Science Applications) that is quite famous and has a curriculum similar to Computer Engineering.

[waleedreaper]

Thank you so much. I got an offer letter from NUST for Comp Engg and from Nutech for CS and I was wondering which I should do because I want to become a software developer. I have no interest in working on hardware but I was willing to go to nust for comp engg just because I thought its degree has greater value in the market. What do you think? Should I choose the popular degree or should I choose the one that suits my career goals?
Please reply, I have to respond to the offer letter by tomorrow

[ABDULMOEEDKHAN-psok]

There is no scope for computer science engineering in Pakistan. If you want to make your carrier in this field you must have to move Abroad.