Should I take up electrical engineering or computer science?

[leoieris]

I am currently in my final year of high school in India, and slightly confused as to which course I should take. I've always been interested in physics, and would eventually like to do research in quantum computing. I'm not sure whether to take a B.S. in Physics, or engineering (a BTech) in computers or electrical engineering.

I'm not as interested in computer science engineering as I am in physics, I'm only considering it because according to my parents, it is the safest option. I would prefer to take a B.S. in Physics, but not all of the 'good colleges' in India (the IITs) offer this degree, and my parents are insistent on me pursuing a BTech degree.

There are also research institutes like IISc and IISER, which would be great for a BS-MS dual degree in Physics. I would like to do my M.S. and eventually PhD in Physics, but as of now, which degree should I take up? Which degree would be better for me to switch to an M.S. in Physics after?

 

[MidgetDwarf]

if you want to go for a graduate degree in physics, then major in physics.

 

[malawi_glenn]

Quantum computing also require good electrical engineers.

 

[CrysPhys]

OP: Your scenario is confusingly worded. Let me see whether I have this straight.

* Your ultimate goal is to pursue a PhD in Physics. In which case, the obvious choice for an undergraduate major is Physics.

* But, due to other constraints, you need to choose between an undergraduate major in computer science and and undergraduate major in electrical engineering. "Other constraints" include restrictions within the Indian educational system and, more importantly, what major your parents are willing to fund.

* If the above captures your scenario properly, then I would recommend electrical engineering as being more "physics-leaning" than computer science. If you have the opportunity (and depending on your choice of educational institution, you might not), take as many physics electives as you can.

[ETA: As a side comment: That's the advantage of most (not all) US universities. Many students graduating from high school simply don't have enough experience to decide what major is best for them. The ability to defer or change choice of major and the ability to take electives among a variety of different fields provide great flexibility.]

 

[leoieris]

I apologize for any confusion, but yes, you've got my current situation right. Thank you for your advice.

 

[Vanadium 50]

The problem with that plan is that it will be very, very difficult to enter graduate school in physics with less physics than the standard physics BS curriculum. Maybe you can be short one class, maybe even (althoughg it's less likely) two, but if you don't have a physics BS or close to it, it will be difficult to gain acceptance to a program intended to go beyond the BS.

CrysPhys called them electives, and they are, but they are virtually mandatory if you want to enter a physics graduate school.

 

[berkeman]

I apologize for any confusion, but yes, you've got my current situation right. Thank you for your advice.

Your OP (Original Post -- the first post that you made to start this thread) is pretty different from the thread title. Your OP is being addressed well by others, but I'd like to also address the question that you asked in your thread title, since that is how the majority of Google searches will find this thread.

For a student entering university trying to decide between EE and CS, one of the best ways is to do some projects on your own in each, to see which one is more interesting to you and more fun.

For exploring the EE option at a basic level, you should build up a few electronics kits that interest you and see if you enjoy building and using them. Back in my day (I grew up in a cave), the project kits were simple like an FM Radio or Digital Clock or similar. Nowadays you can use an Arduino plus some IO boards and a kit board to do all kinds of fun projects.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=electronics+kits

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=arduino+kits

https://www.makershed.com/collections/electronics

On the software/CS side, you can look at challenge projects in programming to find some good things to try. You can also play around with programming some games that interest you. I've been working on an interactive Rubik's Cube program for a while, and am currently coding it in Python (mostly to help me practice solving the cubes).

@jedishrfu can probably suggest some good software challenge problems to try...

 

[jedishrfu]

The best site for interesting tasks is the

www.rosettacode.org

site where there are tasks to work and examples in a large variety of programming languages.

However, doing an arduino project or a raspberry pi project can introduce you to both hardware and software at the same time. Software project areas are quite diverse from simple applications to web-based application servers, to low-level hardware/software device projects.

In addition there are many good tutorials and projects on youtube if you search around for them. I currently have a book on building a robotic rover using a raspberry-pi, some motors + controllers and some sensors all controlled by the pi. Its a combo hardware and software project providing practical experience in debugging a project.

 

[CrysPhys]

The problem with that plan is that it will be very, very difficult to enter graduate school in physics with less physics than the standard physics BS curriculum. Maybe you can be short one class, maybe even (althoughg it's less likely) two, but if you don't have a physics BS or close to it, it will be difficult to gain acceptance to a program intended to go beyond the BS.

CrysPhys called them electives, and they are, but they are virtually mandatory if you want to enter a physics graduate school.

Agreed. But given the over-constrained scenario that the OP has described, the question then becomes not what is the best option, or even what is a good option, but what is the less bad option.

All is not lost, however. Upon finishing his undergrad in electrical engineering, he may find that he actually loves electrical engineering and wants to pursue graduate studies in it. Or, he may find that he still has an empty longing for physics, and enrolls in a remedial/transition/bridge program to prepare him for a graduate program in physics. In which case, an undergrad in electrical engineering would give him better preparation than an undergrad in computer science.

Much will also depend on his ability, desire, and willingness, if necessary, to gain financial independence from his parents or to transfer to a different educational system (taking into account the risk of a family schism). But this is a lot to throw on the shoulders of a student still in high school.