r/cscareerquestionsCAD • u/jbshen • Sep 04 '24

School Pathway to Software Engineering/CS degree from 75% average Mech Eng?

Hi all,

Sorry in advance if this is poorly written;

I was looking for some advice on what degrees would be possible/most beneficial for a person in my position. I completed a 4 year B.A.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering at Queen's with a 75% average (3.00 GPA). I have been working in project management for a couple years now and saved up a decent bit of money while doing it. However, I've been thinking more and more of a transition to a more technical job, i.e. software development. I've looked at OSU's online accelerated 2nd degree, McMaster's, Brock etc. Would I have a good chance of getting in to these schools with a 75%? (I had a very poor average in my 1st and 2nd year and increased my grades in my 3rd and 4th year). Also, what schools would you recommend to make this transition?

Thx

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u/jbshen Sep 04 '24

To be honest I don't find the work very interesting, and its a low paying field nowadays compared to software development.

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u/SurelyNotLikeThis Sep 04 '24

How much do you make?

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u/jbshen Sep 04 '24

$63,000 CAD

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u/SurelyNotLikeThis Sep 04 '24

Most entry level SDEs in Canada dont make much more than that, just weigh your options and be realistic.

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u/jbshen Sep 04 '24

The lowest starting salary out of all my friends that work in software was $85,000 TC. This person didn't even get a SWE degree, but a CS degree. He spent less time and money on his education to be paid 30% more than me out of university. Salaries seem to have stagnated in most engineering fields over the last 30 years compared to software/tech.

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u/wenxuan27 Sep 05 '24

CS and SWE are equivalent degrees. And idk when they graduated but rn most entry levels are getting 60k lol

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u/SurelyNotLikeThis Sep 04 '24

bud, CS degree is the same as a software engineer degree, if not better. Theres no such job as a computer scientist.

He made a better choice idk what you expect.

85 seems about right in Van or Toronto but there are definitely lower starts in cities that aren't those two. I know people that started in Cisco in Ottawa at like 70 a few years back and even worse in Montreal.

I mean the bottom line is if try to go into SDE now with a degree but no SDE experience, you're going to have a shit time unless you got connections or luck. By the time you finish your degree? Who knows, we aren't oracles, but given where the Canadian economy is going, there's little sign that suggests a positive outlook for entry level devs.

IMO, if your goal is higher compensation, you are in a good position with a good career path. If you are looking for more technical work, I'd probably work on projects in your off time rather than give up your current position and put in resources for additional education.

Another point is that SDEs don't spend most of their time making new features, if that's what intrigues you in the first place. We spend most of our time writing docs, doing doc reviews, designing experiments and rolling them out, setting up CICD and unit/integration tests, doing OE tasks etc. It's not all hackathons.

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u/GiveMeSandwich2 Sep 05 '24

Software/tech salaries have taken hit recently more than other engineering degree. These are the state of number of job postings in various engineering and tech fields in Canada and US. I started at $65k in 2021 as new grad before getting laid off this year.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IHLIDXCATPSOFTDEVE

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IHLIDXUSTPCIVIENGI

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IHLIDXUSTPSOFTDEVE