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Ask HN: If you had to get a non-tech masters degree, what would you go for?

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Re: Ask HN: If you had to get a non-tech masters degree, what would you go for?

#11

Post by drakonka »

markus_zhang wrote: post #10
drakonka wrote: post #6

Do I have to pick? I moved to a university town last year and started registering for whatever sounds interesting. There are so many fascinating things to learn about! My first ever university course ended up being about nuclear weapons. I just finished the second, about the research front in life sciences. Next term I'm hoping to take a cosmology course. And just unofficially dropping in to some philosophy paper rea…

Just curious how do you manage to register those courses? I figured they must need some prerequisite? It would be a boon if they don’t ask for prerequisites.

These are entry-level courses that don't require previous university studies. There are some basic eligibility requirements, but those are just high-school level. As I gain credits over time there'll be increasingly more options, but even without there are plenty of interesting ground-level courses across different faculties to take.

Re: Ask HN: If you had to get a non-tech masters degree, what would you go for?

#12

Post by markus_zhang »

drakonka wrote: post #11
markus_zhang wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just curious how do you manage to register those courses? I figured they must need some prerequisite? It would be a boon if they don’t ask for prerequisites.

These are entry-level courses that don't require previous university studies. There are some basic eligibility requirements, but those are just high-school level. As I gain credits over time there'll be increasingly more options, but even without there are plenty of interesting ground-level courses across different faculties to take.

Ah I see, thanks. I thought those cosmology classes are higher level.

Re: Ask HN: If you had to get a non-tech masters degree, what would you go for?

#14

Post by peacemaker »

I went and did a masters degree in Ecology (well, Conservation Ecosystem Management specifically) during covid which I really enjoyed. A lot of it was completely out of my comfort zone after 20+ years in tech but a surprising amount did translate, such as the maths/stats and writing R code.

I felt it made me a better 'thinker' if that makes sense? Learned to be more critical (in a good way) and consider subjects I'd never come across before. I even went and created (and won!) a business pitch to a government org to handle some habitat surveys which was a great experience.

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