CSIT vs. Computer Engineering, in Nepal


Are you a Nepali student and have just completed your +2 or A-levels? Are you stuck between CSIT and computer engineering? Are you banging your head against the wall trying to decide which one to go for? Fear not, dear reader, for in this article, I attempt to weigh both sides in order to help you make the correct decision. So, keep reading!

Firstly:

What you have to understand is that the debate between CSIT and computer engineering is not resolved overwhelmingly to either side. Each of them has its own pros and cons. I’ll try to list these out for you, and you can make an informed decision on your own.

Computer Engineering:

Pros:

  1. You get to call yourself an engineer once you get your degree.
  2. It’s a more reputed degree, which means better job opportunities.
  3. The government puts a lot more money into computer engineering than into CSIT. So, there’s a clear path to a full or partial scholarship.
  4. You get to study with extremely intelligent classmates if you get into Pulchowk. (Before students from private engineering colleges “meet me outside”, let me clarify that it is not my intention in any way to demean their intelligence. I’ve met plenty of super-intelligent students studying in private colleges. However, I’m just reporting my findings at my own college. That is all. Peace.)
  5. The course has a solid theoretical base, which might give you an edge over job-oriented CSIT students in some situations. (To tell you a secret, I don’t believe it does.)

Cons:

  1. More theoretical, less job-oriented
  2. Very old course, at least for TU.
  3. A huge number of seemingly unrelated subjects. (At one point, you’ll be filing away a moderately big iron piece for hours on end, while wiping away your endless perspiration (and tears) in the summer, in an attempt to create a small iron hammer. It’s called workshop technology and is only one, albeit extreme, example of the unrelated subjects I mentioned.)
  4. It’s very possible to get great marks in every single subject and yet have absolutely zero job skills.
  5. The course seems to be designed by electronics engineers and has far too many electronics-based subjects that will probably be as useful as the workshop thing as far as actual programming is concerned.

CSIT:

I’ll be honest here: I’m a student of computer engineering, not CSIT. So, all my knowledge about it is second hand. Yet, I’ll have a go at its pros and cons. I’ll leave it up to you to decide how accurate it is. Hopefully, some CSIT student will review these some day.

Pros:

  1. More job-oriented skills in course.
  2. Not many unrelated subjects.
  3. More freedom with what you can study. (You have many elective subjects, and paths you can take. For example, you could take subjects specializing in programming, network, database, and so on.)

Cons:

  1. More expensive. No clear path to a scholarship.
  2. Less reputed degree. You won’t be able to call yourself an “engineer”. It may not matter, but it’s always a bonus.
  3. You might need to study some electronics concepts from scratch later on if you need them, because they’re not included in the course. (I don’t think this will matter. You might need to study accounting concepts from scratch because accountancy is not in the course. This does not seem to bother anybody. So, why would this argument be valid for electronics?)

Disclaimer:

The points listed here represent my personal opinions that I’ve formed using info from seniors, teachers, senior teachers, the internet, personal experience, and so on. It is very likely that you’ll meet people who have different opinions. So, just take in all the information you can get and decide for yourself. Moreover, although I’m a student of computer engineering, I’m no topper or programming whiz or anything like that. So, just take this info, especially the computer engineering part, like some sage battlefield advice coming from your ordinary, average foot soldier. 


Ashish Acharya

About Ashish Acharya

I am a student of Computer Engineering. I love games of logic such as chess and Baghchal. I also love writing.

40 thoughts on “CSIT vs. Computer Engineering, in Nepal

  1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics has several reports claiming that Computer programmers make an average of $37.63 an hour and $78,260 a year in general while Applications software engineers have a wage of $44.85 and salary of $93,280, while systems software engineers averaged $49.30 an hour and $102,550 a year.

    What I feel is Computer engineers look forward to a better design approach while CSIT students who are basically computer programmers look forward to coding portion only when it comes to a software or a game development!

    An upperhand for a Computer engineer maybe!

    • When it was my time to choose, I chose computer engineering. If given the chance to choose again, I don’t think I’d change that decision. Mainly because of the scholarship, Pulchowk, classmates, and the “engineer” title.

      • I am thinking of going to Bangalore for studying computer engineering. It will be right decision or not? If yes, which college will be good please help.

        • From what I’ve heard, Bangalore is a booming IT market. So, it should be a pretty good decision. I suggest you do a thorough research on this before committing to anything. If possible, post your findings here so that it might help somebody else.

          • Some people reading other engineering except CE told me that people stydying CE have to struggle hard for getting job after completing the study.Is it true?

          • It’s a myth. As my seniors and teachers tell me, if you have the skills, there are plenty of jobs to go around. Even if you can’t find a job, you can always go for freelancing and easily earn 15 to 20 dollars in an hour (..and a lot more once you’re experienced). The image of computer engineers is a bit tarnished in Nepal because the course itself will not give you much job skills, which means you’ll have to develop them on your own. So, if you have an interest in software design, programming, algorithms, and so on, go for it. If not, better go for something else. Read this article for details.

    • In the context of Nepal, they’re nearly the same. I believe KU offers the former. There is, however, a difference in the two courses when you think about it internationally. I encourage you to read these comments.

      • ( There
        is, however, a
        difference in the
        two courses when
        you think about it
        internationally.) Kasto difference painxa?

        • I’d only be able to give you a cursory answer here. I think it would be better if you researched this on your own.

    • Well, i am not much aware of these courses in Nepal. But, if u are considering for abroad studies particularly United States or Australia then, Bachelors in Computer Science and Bachelors in Computer Engineering are completely different courses. Computer Science mainly focuses in software development whereas computer engineering is designing and prototyping of computing devices and systems.

  2. A)Difference betn
    1)BEIT & CSIT?
    2)CSIT,BEIT & COMPUTER ENG?AND WHICH HAS BEST SCOPE?
    B)BEIT NEPAL MA PADNA PAIXA KI NAI?

  3. Hellow i want to learn a computer engineering for the management faculty and i have take only english,account,eco,markeeting,finance
    can i get a change to study computer engineer from any college …………
    waiting for the best answer mr. ashish acharya

      • I am reading +2science in pokhara. I am thinking to study in usa or australia. But i m confused which to take computer engineering or csit.. Can you plz tell me the scopes of both in international market. And their difference.sir.

    • I went for +2. I don’t know much about diploma. I do know that people who go for diploma generally struggle with the engineering entrance exams and the 1st year subjects in engineering.

  4. Sir, I couldn’t pass the Pre-Entrance test of IOE(the negative markings really knocked me hard). 1)Is Nepal Engineering College good for a Computer Engineering degree? 2)will students of CSIT get job placements abroad? 3) and also I heard BE Computer has a lot of Electronics & Communications portion as well, does that serve as a benefit? 4)I’m interested in making apps,and I dream of designing an interactive web-site, I also have a good base and understanding of C programming, Now I come down to two options Computer Engineering degree in NEC or CSIT of T.U,, could you help me decide in these two?

    • 1) The simple answer is: Probably Not. Primary reason: Exams are postponed a LOT. Might change in the future, though.
      2) I don’t know. If you acquire the skill set and decent grades, I think you’ll do fine.
      3) Nope. I find the course disproportionately tilted towards electronics subjects. The course needs some serious revision, at least for Computer Engineering (TU).
      4) If those are your options, I’d suggest you go for CSIT.

    • if you want to end up being a software developer/engineer. Then, you better study Bachelors in Computer Science or Bachelors in Information technology(Software Development specialization) because these courses mainly focuses on the software aspect of computing whereas a degree in Bachelors in comp. engineering concentrates in design and prototyping of computing devices and systems. Different universities in Australia does provide Bachelors in Software engineering degree which specializes only in software development and doesn’t include networking, databases, etc. If you want to study abroad then you can stick with this degree too.

  5. I appreciate what you are doing here. You answer each of our questions, thanks for that. I could not comment on the other post of yours – Computer Engineering in Nepal so here I am. Anyways, I am thinking of going to KU for computer engineering this year. Is KU a good place to study or should I go for private IOE college (I dont think i can qualify for Pulchowk)?

    • In my opinion (and I’m probably biased towards Pulchowk because I study there), this is the order in which you should be considering colleges:

      Pulchowk > KU > Private colleges

  6. Thanks for ur opinion. With this i av gained lots of differences betwn CE & CSIT. But can you explain more about CE? If there remain no chances in TU Or KU. Will pokhara University is suitable?????

  7. I hav jst passed the slc exam and now i m studying in grade 11.But in grade 12 our college dont have computer subject and is replaced by english.i want to become a software engineer.will it be helpful if i dont read computer subject in class 12? and how much marks should we obtained in class 11 and class 12 in all five subject i.e physics, computer in 11 and nepali in 12, maths, chemistry, english…plz reply hai

    • Yes bhai you can study computer engineering without having computer in 12. What you need for applying in TU(Pulchowk) is that you require average of 50 in maths of 11 and 12. I was a biology student and took extra maths. You can study in PU even if you don’t have maths in 12 but TU being old is internationally recognized.

  8. after completing bsccsit, can we get a job as a IT profession and do MIT after wards?? or we sud go wid msccsit only?? plz explain,,

  9. hello,
    i want to master computer programming and develop websites ,apps and games.
    i heard that CE focuses both on hardware and software while CSIT focuses on mainly softwares.
    which one will be best for me ?

  10. I’m a pass-out Computer Engineer from Pulchowk Campus. There are many flaws in your view regarding computer engineering. I would like to present my points:
    1. Without knowing the hardware background, no matter how hardcore programmer you are, you cannot optimize your program. I am working here as C/C++ developer and the problem I face more often is the memory management in low level. You ought to know low level and hardware before calling yourself a genuine programmer.
    2. So according to your view, a computer engineer only needs to know how to program in C/C++/Java, etc. and leaving all the stuffs that doesn’t cross with computer engineering. If so, you are very mistaken. Read about Machine Learning, Algorithms, Linear and Discrete Optimization. These are the subjects that every computer engineer should know. Even Data Mining doesn’t belong in computer engineering but it lies in Statistics. Please don’t consider any subject worthless in computer engineering.
    3. Do you know biologist, microbiologist, statisticians of foreign country are good programmers than most of us here. Have you any reason about this? Well, programming is nothing but a tool to convert your ideas for working. Ideas is what makes a computer scientist/engineer not your programming skills. Anybody with 2 years experience can code. Even children code in US. You must have strong mathematical skills, strong hardware backgrounds and ability to choose the data structure when needed. I think this is what makes a computer engineer different from a programmer.
    4. According to your view, subjects like Physics, Chemistry and even workshop is worthless. How do you think people create game engines like unity if they don’t know the underlying physics. Have you heard of chemoinformatics? Even that filthy workshop will help you creating your own robot who learns to walk on its own.

    So the bottom line is, don’t think one subject superior or inferior to another. Each of them carries their own weigh and used at some filed.

  11. Hello i am a student of A levels and was just going to finish my final exam when the earthquake came and due to it our exams got canceled .i am from science faculty but i dont have chemistry .do u think private colleges will APCEPT me for CE if im willing to pay full price and my exams would be conducted in October-november ?

  12. 1.total kati jati lagxa CE padna
    2.jastai ki Malai 11 ma 3 bisaya lagyo ani 12 ma dist.hane bhabisaya ma gayera kehi asar hunxa ki nai CE ko lagi

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