system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Difference between Computer Science and Software Engineering?

Good afternoon, I am a 17 year old high school student heading into my senior year. As I start applying to colleges, I'm trying to pin down what I would like to major in.

I've been a hobbyist programmer for nearly 8 years now, and my favorite projects are video games, as well as mobile and desktop applications. In terms of career choice, I'm not necessarily interested in a career building computers. I'm more aiming to write software for consumers that can help improve their workflow or their lives.

I guess my main question is whether or not a CS degree would suit me best, or a Software Engineering degree? Or are they nearly identical?
gpt
This is very dependent on the university. For the longest time, there was no concept of a "Software Engineering" degree; we all just got CS degrees. But the reality is that a lot of us here, if not most of us, are not at all "Computer Scientists" in the literal sense of the term.

The simplest way to view Computer Science vs Software Engineering:

* Computer Scientists are the ones advancing the field. There are any number of paths they could be using to do it; it could be anything from AI, Machine Learning, Encryption, Quantum Computing, etc etc. They are actual scientists, and they are the reason we get cool new things

* Software Engineers build the software you are using. Games, websites, desktop applications, the Operating System you are on, etc etc. The scientists are the eggheads, and we're the code monkeys. We may implement things that come to a close overlap with Computer Scientists, like implementing AI or Machine Learning, but we generally aren't sitting there working out the math and theories necessary to come up with that stuff originally.

Of course, that's a very broad and generalized way to look at it, but it gives a good starting point when considering where you want to go.

Good luck!