Software Engineering vs Computer Engineering

Hi everybody.
I currently study computer science and I'm wondering whether I should pursue a software engineering specialization or a computer engineering specialization. I did some research on the subject, but it didn't answer a lot of questions. Which degree is 'worth more'? (I realize that the university's stature also plays a role, but I want the practical/job opportunity angle) How much does specializing in one area comes at the expense of the other area? How will it affect my job opportunities? (Actual examples would be nice here)

Thanks in advance.

Which do you like more?
Which projects to you gladly stay up all night making them exceed everyone else pitiful efforts?

You will be more fulfilled, make more money, and have a much better career, if you do what you want to do.

Well, what I imagine myself doing is developing programs, ideally: stuff like photo editing programs, compilers, operating systems, codecs, encryption software, all which is more geared towards software engineering I suppose. The thing is, I do enjoy the hardware related courses, and it's considered a double specialty: both computer science and electrical engineering, so now I ask myself:
If I go to computer engineering, does it means that it'll be harder to get the jobs I described? How will the software I'll get to work on differ than if I was a software engineer? Will I mostly do drivers for hardware and assembly type programming, or will I still have the freedom to chose whatever I want? And if I study computer engineering, how much of the software side will I be giving up as far as the education goes? Or is the differences in undergraduate studies are very minor?

If you enjoy designing compilers and such, I'd stick with Computer Science.

If memory serves me correctly, ComSci goes more into complex algorithms and algorithm theory than Software Engineering. That knowledge will come in handy when designing some of the types of software you listed.

If you're going into design engineering you'll still be coding, but from what you've listed as possible areas I'm fairly sure that there aren't too many who do all of that professionally

Coming straight out of school with what I assume will be minimal job experience in IT, I doubt your job prospects will be severly limited by the specialization you chose.

Your ability to snag a job fresh out of college will be related to your grades and your level of entheuasism toward what you do.

By showing your desire to do this stuff, the will and ability to learn this subject, and a level of excitement at the prospect of doing this on a daily basis, the right person with the right major (but the wrong specialization) will win the job every day over the wrong person with the right major and the right specialization.

3 to 5 years out your major won't even matter much less your specialization, if your job experience and excitement toward the job are there.

-MBirchmeier

So basically you're saying that in IT they'll look more at my grades/university and enthusiasm than my academic starting point?
If so, what should be my motivation for choosing either? Just what I find more enjoyable to study and how it will affect my starting point? How will it affect my starting point then?

Without experience, people won't hire you for what you can do but for what you have supposedly learned to do.

Photo editing programs and OS design are a world apart. A person can write photo editing programs all day long without understanding the system. The same can't be said for OSes.

A person who can design the hardware as well as program it will have well-above-average opportunities.

Solidify your desires, then speak to a counsellor regarding the appropriate path to the goal.

A lot of what your motivation will be for choosing a path will depend on you.

You might focus on things that you enjoy the most, subjects you need to improve in, or things that you think pertain to your 'dream job', and I'd focus more in terms of what role you preform as to what project you'll be working on.

Do you want to be coding day in and day out? How about designing? Debugging? Testing?
Is working at the code level important to you?
How about the 30,000 ft. design view?
Do you want to work with other people?
Do you want to lead other people?
Do you want to be responsible for look and feel, or functionality and data?

The truth is these types of positions have existed on every project I've worked on, whether it's a hardware intensive project, to a web solution, to a desktop project. A coding job at the assembly level isn't that much different from a coding job at the web level. The same is true with design and testing etc. The tools and languages, and limitations change, but the roles, and responsibilties generally stay the same.

Does this help at all?

-MBirchmeier

Yes, you guys are being helpful. I guess that what I lean towards is more the software side. That's what I would like my first job to revolve around, and if without experience people will hire me for what I supposedly learned to do I guess software engineering is the path for me. I still have one question though: suppose I wake up one morning and decide that I want to work with hardware after all (this morning being some time after I graduate). How difficult will that transition be? Is it just a matter of taking a semester or two worth of courses to complete the electrical engineering side of my education, or of coming to a hardware company with good grades and lots of enthusiasm? How far will I be from that field?

Software and hardware hardly touch. :-)

I would think that there is more than a couple of semesters needed to convert from CS to Computer Engineering, but its only a guess.

The 'embedded systems' guys typically are much closer to the hardware/software/firmware world than IT folks. They use special tools and worry about stuff that IT folks don't. A 64KB memory may be all you have in a tiny embedded processor, so you can't think about problems the same way we do with our 2GB ram, quad processor systems.

I enjoy eating sesame chicken and watching Scrubs and The Office...how can I apply that to make money?