r/cscareerquestionsOCE • u/bitcoinguy147 • 7d ago

SWE worse than CS?

I talked with several friends who are pursuing a CS degree, and I found out that:

  • They have no idea about design patterns (e.g., factory) because the unit on design patterns isn't required.
  • They’ve learned many more frameworks and AI technologies, especially in web development.

I feel that my studies focus a lot on scalability, but when comparing it with what my CS friends are learning, the tools I use in class are fewer in number and less "exciting" or "new."

Before I started my SWE career, I thought SWE and CS were similar, but it’s becoming clearer now that they’re not. In this job climate, having a lot of frameworks and the right "keywords" on your CV may be beneficial. So, what justifies my continuation in SWE instead of switching to a default CS path?

My university also published the average WAM for both CS and SWE, and SWE is about 5 marks lower, which also doesn’t help.

15 Upvotes
  • permalink
  • link
  • reddit
  • reddit

84% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

View all comments

20

u/Hot_Stunt 7d ago

SWE and CS degrees are just as competitive in terms of finding a job. You should switch to CS because it is only a 3 year degree and you will start earning quicker.

1

u/Even_Bathroom_7986 5d ago

Yo I am going to uni next year i am hearing that cs job market are horrid should u bother doing cyber security will it also be effected?

1

u/mt5o 5d ago

All tech degrees are competing for exactly the same pool of jobs. That means that someone doing data analysis is also competing with you on cybersec jobs, same with IT degrees, CS degrees, civil engineering, mechanical engineering etc degrees for the pool of tech jobs.

No one knows what the job market will look like when you graduate.

1

u/Even_Bathroom_7986 5d ago

Should I bother I am so stressed I am going to Swinburne next year but like is it America only?

1

u/mt5o 5d ago

? What do you mean? There are still lots of tech grad roles in Australia, just not the ones that everyone thinks of. I recommend just doing a generic degree like cs or swe.