Computer Major/Career

Right off the bat, you've made some inaccurate assumptions:
- Just because we are a slightly more tech oriented community than average does not mean that we are flooded with those with computer oriented college degrees, or even those that know anything beyond the basics of what they need to get things done for themselves.
- You kind of expect us to just know what schools you may be looking at, what the degrees may entail, etc. At least give some degree names if you want an idea of where they may lead you.
- You didn't fully research before asking the question, and now expect that we'll even research a little or donate our knowledge before you worked to find the answers yourself.

Now that I'm done kind of busting your balls, so to speak:
What are the degrees that you're looking at?
How much have you researched those degrees at your schools of interest to see what the programs entail?

[quote name='Nathan Drake' timestamp='1350364446'] Right off the bat, you've made some inaccurate assumptions:- Just because we are a slightly more tech oriented community than average does not mean that we are flooded with those with computer oriented college degrees, or even those that know anything beyond the basics of what they need to get things done for themselves.- You kind of expect us to just know what schools you may be looking at, what the degrees may entail, etc. At least give some degree names if you want an idea of where they may lead you.- You didn't fully research before asking the question, and now expect that we'll even research a little or donate our knowledge before you worked to find the answers yourself.Now that I'm done kind of busting your balls, so to speak:What are the degrees that you're looking at?How much have you researched those degrees at your schools of interest to see what the programs entail? [/quote]

I only assumed so because in the time that I've been here I've seen several posts regarding college and computer majors, and nothing more.

You're right to say that I didn't research, I have done so and I now feel comfortable with what I found. Thanks anyway you at least responded and wanted to help.

I like computer science, its pretty much a all around(except computer enginering which is a form of engineering) degree, for a 4 year degree thats what i chose. If you want a degree for game programming then that's the one to choose.

Well... to be a programmer, you certainly don't need any kind of degree. The field's still new enough that for general purposes, as long as you know what you're doing and can adequately convey that in the interview, you'll do well in job hunting. Here are some general notes on the related majors:

Computer Science (ECS/CS)
Look into this field if you think doing research would be something interesting for you. Do you like AI? How about encryption, security or compression? Would you be interested in having a career based around trying to improve our understanding of how to use computers? Those are the sorts of questions to ask yourself if you're considering a career in CS. With a BS in ECS you'd be qualified to be a programmer (though, again, having a degree doesn't matter so much if you're only interested in being a programmer) but if you want to do research you'll definitely be going to grad school.

Computer Engineering (CE)
As a rule of thumb, scientists try to discover new things about a field while engineers take what scientists discover to make new tools, which incidentally, help scientists to make new discoveries. There's no exception here. CE'ers will work to solve practical problems, and you should expect to do a lot more programming if you take this route, and a lot less theoretical computing. This is a great choice for people who prefer solving problems over postulating about them.

Electrical Engineering (EEC/EE)
You'll do very little programming if you're pure EE, beyond the basics. I know you didn't explicitly state EE as a possible choice, but you did mention hardware engineering so I'm going to talk about EE. Basically, EE is a broad and pretty well-developed (though still repidly developing) field, and you'll study and apply a great deal of advanced mathematics (theoretical and practical) and physics (mostly concerning electricity and modern/quantum physics). As one of my professors once put it, if you want any kind of design position in EE, a Master's is the bare minimum, PhD preferred for a position, as anything less than that and employers will feel you've simply not done enough in the field yet.

Computer Science Engineering (CSE)
I seriously have no idea why this is even a major offered at some universities. It's basically a mix of all three of the aforementioned, but doesn't cover them all in as much detail as they otherwise would be. I wouldn't recommend it personally - just double major as EE + ECS/CE instead.

Okay, so that about covers it in brief (yes I know this is a long post, but this is a large topic!). If you're looking for a career in one of these fields, expect that you'll spend the rest of your life learning new things, as all of these fields are still very rapidly developing. If you're okay with having to constantly learn new things (as you should be if you're going to college), then this shouldn't be an issue at all. To be a good programmer, you mainly need to just have a strong sense of logic and a great deal of creativity - though time and money never hurt. Anyway, I hope this clears things up a bit for you, and I hope things work out. Good luck!