
Ask HN: Difference Between Computer Science vs. Software Engineering Majors? - CbGate
I&#x27;m going back to school, to get a degree, I&#x27;m hoping I&#x27;d fill the gap in my knowledge and to take advantage of an internship (hard to get internships if you&#x27;re not a student) to pave the way for me into a job in software security (I&#x27;m interested in vulnerability research and reverse engineering).<p>I had two choices:
1) Computer Science.
2) Software Engineering.<p>I got accepted into the second one. and I&#x27;ve been thinking about it a lot for sometime, they both seem similar, but they&#x27;re different, I&#x27;m not sure if its good or bad for my career plan to continue in the SE major.<p>Given What I said above is software engineering a good choice? Will I be viewed differently compared to CS students?<p>Does the content of the Software Engineering program cover a decent amount of knowledge?<p>The Software Engineering Program:
https:&#x2F;&#x2F;webapp4.asu.edu&#x2F;programs&#x2F;t5&#x2F;roadmaps&#x2F;ASU00&#x2F;TSSERBS&#x2F;null&#x2F;ALL&#x2F;2019<p>The Computer Science Program:
https:&#x2F;&#x2F;webapp4.asu.edu&#x2F;programs&#x2F;t5&#x2F;roadmaps&#x2F;ASU00&#x2F;ESCSEBS&#x2F;null&#x2F;ALL&#x2F;2019
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streetcat1
So computer science is about computation as an abstract idea - the study of
computation, which in its basis is discrete math (with formal models like
state machines, etc) and complexity theory.

So expect to understand discrete math and its manifestation in practice -
compilers, programming languages, databases. You would also learn about
algorithms, their properties, and what cannot be computed.

The goal of SE degree is how to introduce computer systems into the real
world. where the real world is composed of both humans and machines.

So expect to learn about software project management, software process,
estimation, requirement gathering, design.

At the end of the day, CS degree is more fundamental and has better long term
value. However, most of programming in practice today is using existing tools
and composing existing software system, so either one is good.

