I've studied these very questions for my position at work. My educational background is Comp Science and an MBA from University of Iowa. I work at one of the largest largest aerospace and defense companies in the world. I teach software engineering as the lead for our "internal university." In other words, I teach the skills to our internal engineers that they don't receive in college. One of my projects a couple years back was to evaluate the state of engineering education. What courses does a student take for each engineering discipline from Big Ten schools and the other engineering schools we recruit from. How does that match up with the skills we need as a Fortune 100 aerospace company. Here's my take as an engineer, researcher and father of a 20 year-old who is still trying to figure this thing out.

1. Computer Science (CS) or Software Engineering (SE) should be high on your list of best degrees. Mechanical Engineering (ME) is your WORST engineering degree to go into right now. MEs are having a tough time finding work in comparison to CS or SEs. We have two, top-tier engineering schools within 90 minutes of our main campus. The dean of one of these schools told me that they have 8,000 ME students and 250 SE students. This is STUPIDLY out of proportion. We provide internships and hire predominantly CS, SE, Aerospace, and Computer Engineering (CE) students. At best, MEs make up 5% of our engineers.

2. Computer Engineering is okay but you'll likely get a job coding. Maybe ASICS or FPGA development if you're lucky. Terribly boring, dead end work. And you'll be sorely lacking the skills needed for other software engineering duties.

3. Experience matters most. School doesn't matter after the first job. A highly ranked school can get you in the door of a larger company. We recruit from about 8 of the best engineering universities. But at the end of the day, we NEED and hire engineers that have the experience and skills we are looking for. Best if we can lure the best engineers away from our competitors. In my opinion, save the money by taking the first 2 years at a community college and get into a local engineering program. Some of our best engineers come from a start at a community college and then a smaller school.

4. Internships matter! Get your foot in the door and that initial experience that we look for.

5. There is a lot of group think and lack of real world experience at larger academic schools. What I mean is that the curriculum doesn't change often because "those are the courses that we've always taught." The curriculum for a computer science degree (or any engineering degree) has NOT changed much since I graduated in 1991. That is ridiculous! In my research, I've found that smaller colleges have more progressive programs with better capstone experiences, more engaged professors and a richer, more collaborative experience.

NEWSFLASH: Professors at research universities are NOT there to teach your kids and prepare them for a future job.

6. There are alternative programs that are popping up. Non-accredited. These are great options. Forget the gender studies, medieval literature and other useless liberal arts courses. Learn the skills that employers really want and you're done in 6 months. No massive student loan debt around your neck. Here's one example... https://www.deltavcodeschool.com/ This is the future of education.

THE TIME VALUE OF MONEY

Think about the time value of money. Let's compare something like Delta V code school to a BS in ME. You're out of school in less than one year with a great paying job that is literally boundless in potential. Average starting salary for a Delta V student is $58,000. You have 3 more years in the job market... years that are crucial for retirement savings. Meanwhile, you have someone getting a ME degree that racks up $100,000 from a Big Ten school. The national average starting salary for an ME is $58,000 - same as the Delta V Code School. You do the math.

My recommendations...

1. BS Software Engineering at an in-state college
2. BS Computer Science at an in-state college
3. Alternative code school - also take a few Udemy courses in data science
4. Never pay for out of state tuition - unless you a very specific goal in life, paying out of state tuition is very, very stupid - financially speaking

I would look into a degree in Data Science. This super hot and will only grow as a profession. You don't necessary need to major in Data Science but round out your degree with a couple classes in Data Science, Machine Learning, AI, etc. Udemy has great classes in these topics at they are about $20 per class.

Amen Brother!

Computer Science was (and still is) at math degree at many colleges. Discrete Math was killer for me as well. Only class that was more difficult was a statistics course which was a graduate level stats course for stats majors.