Electronic and Software Engineering

[Haiku32]

I enjoy building, upgrading and fixing my computer.
I also enjoy programming. I know some Visual Basic, HTML... I've dabbled in Java and I'm starting Python.

So... when deciding what I want to do at university I well and truly stuck: hardware or software? Then I discovered there was a course at glasgow uni which deals with both! I thought that all my problems were solved, but this was just the start of them...

http://www.gla.ac.uk/undergraduate/p...reengineering/

Right, please be patient as I am a very confused individual right now. If you could give me some insight into them questions, that would be great!

The degree can come under engineering or science.
What's the difference, except for the title?
Will the job prospects be different?
Why are the entry requirements different (you need a B in maths for engineering, C in maths for science)?

Can someone make sense of the entry requirements for me?
Right now I'm studying Maths, English, Computing, Physics and Graphics. Looking to get a C, A, A, B, B, respectively. I don't know if that will be enough (I'm planning on a 6th year anyway) as I don't really understand the entry requirements.

Is this the right course for me? Would I be better doing just computing science, or just electronic engineering? Is there any point focusing on both hardware and software, when I can focus on just one area?

....thanks !

[Steve B]

down with Glasgow, come to strathclyde and do CES! Computer and Electronic Systems

[Haiku32]

down with Glasgow, come to strathclyde and do CES! Computer and Electronic Systems

How much programming is included in that? Looking at it, kinda looks like what I'm interested in. I'm taking it that is what you are studying/studied?

[Whiternoise]

Ok a couple of things

1. Building/upgrading your computer is a whole different kettle of fish to software and hardware engineering. I assume you know this, but just wanted to get that clear! (oh and HTML isn't a programming language - really annoys me, that one )

2. Course wise, if you're going to go into something like engineering, consider taking a generalised course that lets you specialise after a few years. That way you'll have a good background in general engineering too. The options, as i see it is:

CompSci - Good for software students, very minimal amount of hardware from the people i know. They're doing a bit of robotics programming, but the vast majority is Java coding, maths and logic.

Engineering - Lazy physicists! Good for learning how hardware works, and most courses will let you specialise in electrical pretty quickly. Course content is the more applied side of physics and maths - likely will include business as well these days.

Electrical Engineering - If you're really really serious about getting down with circuits then electrical is for you..! Bear in mind that you'll need to be pretty good at maths to do this sort of course straight off. My girlfriend does engineering and they've done more maths than i have doing physics this year (we're 1st years - granted she's at oxford so take that with a pinch of salt) - the vast majority is for circuit analysis. There will no doubt be some programming - like assembly languages and whatnot.

Combined Courses - Probably a good option, you'll get a mixture of both and you can do what you like doing. Whilst you'll probably not cover each of the areas as in depth as you would if you did them separately, you'll get a good grounding in each.

You don't know whether that'll be enough?

3 A levels is the maximum any university should require from you. I took 4, maths, further maths, physics and chemistry - with an AS in computing. I got AAACb respectively. Warwick wanted ABB including further maths for me. Even Oxbridge don't ask for more than 3 A levels! Don't worry about that at all.

For that course, you'll need "BCC including Maths and Physics " So you're on track, but i would seriously consider putting effort into maths. It's really worth pushing for a B - or even an A. It will save you a LOT of time in the future!

With respect to the title, a BSc is just a bachelor of science, whereas BEng is a bachelor of engineering, it's just letters after your name.

It all comes down to what you want to do after really. I chose physics because it's pretty much the jack of all trades when it comes to sciences - you can transfer to engineering, you get a damn solid maths background and of course you've got the physics side (and means you can get just about any job you want after if you do well). Engineering, similarly is a very versatile degree, you're showing people you're good with physics and maths and know how to apply it. If you really want to get hard into circuit design (basically what electrical engineering is), control systems and whatnot then doing a course on it would be good. If you want to be a programming guru then i would recommend computer science. Otherwise, stick with straight engineering, it'll be handy if you find you despise working with circuits when you get there.

[Steve B]

How much programming is included in that? Looking at it, kinda looks like what I'm interested in. I'm taking it that is what you are studying/studied?

I did EEE, of which CES is a computer-oriented derivative. It combines some software design from computer science with electronics. I kinda wish I'd done that. Programming is varied, from Java, to C++, to C and Assembler if you take some of the microcontroller applications classes.

[Steve]

http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/admissions/ug/cse.html

Come to Bristol!

I'm a CSE (Computer Systems Engineering, now known as Computer Science & Electronics, but it's the same thing). I also try to promote the unit to people, so let it be known that I'm strongly biased.

You need to be good at maths, particularly for electronics engineering. CS I'd say less so, or at least I'd say it's a different kind of maths. But if you do straight CS, you're less likely to get to play with these:

[MadduckUK]

now im no marine biologist but hat looks like a turtle without its shell

[Steve B]

oh god, i see a Xilinx chip on there.
what is it, an FPGA development board?

[Steve]

Yes, it's an FPGA board with just about EVERYTHING on it.

Two DVI in, two DVI out, dual 1Gbps ethernet, SDRAM, audio, serial, PS/2, couple of DACs for analogue video out, composite out too I think.

It also, for some reason, doesn't want my code to run on it, despite the fact that the bit-stream I compiled a week ago, that then worked, doesn't any more! Arg.

[Steve B]

what development environment are you using?

[Steve]

Well we're using Microblaze with OBP slaves, in Celoxica's own dev environment.

Idea is we build a random number generator in Handel-C, turn it into an OPB slave, write some (normal) C code that runs on the Microblaze CPU and uses the rand-num generator, then compare it's performance to a software generator which would also run on the Microblaze CPU.

[finlay666]

(oh and HTML isn't a programming language - really annoys me, that one )

Like python, javascript, lua and all other scripting languages

[Steve]

Like python, javascript, lua and all other scripting languages

Yes, exactly like that.

[Haiku32]

I'm working my way from python to C .

Physics is probably my best subject, closely followed by computing. I find I do much better with the maths side of physics than actual maths, because it's in context and I can problem solve much, much better than way.

In all honesty, I don't know what I want to do. I know right now I don't have enough experience to know what I will enjoy the best, or be the best at.

I can see myself doing well with computer science, but I think I would enjoy electronic engineering a bit more.

In respect to maths, in all honesty I can't see myself getting an A this year. In standard grade I got straight 1's and this year, I really hate to blame the teacher, but my teacher is awful. We spend far too long on the simple stuff so when it gets to the proper maths we've ran out of time and have to spend, at most, a period on it. I think I could get a B pass if I really applied myself for the next 3 months.

I'm still leaning more to the side of doing a combined course of hardware and software, like electronic and software engineering. I've still got at least half a year before I need to even think about applying though so, I've got a lot of time to make a decision.

[Steve B]

are you from Glasgow?

[Whiternoise]

Like python, javascript, lua and all other scripting languages

Eh?

HTML is a markup language, big difference surely?