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Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

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Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#201

Post by learc83 »

0xffff2 wrote: post #138
learc83 wrote: post #38

If you haven't been working as a software developer long and you don't have a background in CS, it's going to be difficult. I'm about halfway through and many of the classes assume that you have the equivalent of an undergrad CS degree. It's not intended to replace an undergrad degree. That doesn't mean you can't do it, but your going to spend a lot of time catching up. From what I've seen, the students without a CS…

>I'm about halfway through and many of the classes assume that you have the equivalent of an undergrad CS degree. It's not intended to replace an undergrad degree. I'm curious what you expect. I will soon have a BS in computer science. I would be awfully disappointed if I went on to get an MS in comp. sci. that didn't teach me anything new.

That's exactly what I expected. I have a BS in computer science, and the OMSCS is exactly what I was looking for.

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#202

Post by chucksmash »

barry-cotter wrote: post #196
chucksmash wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd love to be corrected but my impression was that you earn a different degree with this - the paper says OMCS vs MSCS.

How will this degree appear on my diploma and/or transcript? The name "Online Master of Science" is an informal designation to help both Georgia Tech and prospective students distinguish the delivery method of the OMS program from our on-campus degree. The degree name in both cases is Master of Science in Computer Science. http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/prospective-students/faq

That's tremendous, thank you. Perhaps I was thinking of UIUC which makes a distinction between an MCS and an MSCS (of which only the former is available online).

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#203

Post by phaus »

mhb_eng wrote: post #55
vikascoder wrote: post #34

Current working professional and an OMSCS student here. It highly depends on the context. Biggest pros are: 1. This is perhaps the cheapest Computer Science masters in the United States from a premier school. The degree is exactly the same as offered to the residential program and the credits acquired are all legit and transferable to other universities. I had friends who transferred from OMSCS to a regular school an…

My OMSCS experience was rewarding, but I think I echo most other commenters when I say it is entirely dependent on how much effort you can put in. Personally, I graduated in May 2017 after 2 years of study (worked full-time during those years), with a decently high GPA and a good understanding of the basics. As my undergraduate degree was in Mechanical Engineering/Math, it was interesting to get more involved with ma…

Do you think it would be possible for an Information Systems major that isn't phenomenal at math to succeed in this program?

I took a couple of incredibly basic programming classes, a decent class on web development, and discrete math. However, I didn't do any higher-level programming, calculus, or an algorithms class. I'm not sure if I would be able to jump right in or not.

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#204

Post by BlackjackCF »

EricThompson wrote: post #189
BlackjackCF wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work full time as a systems engineer and have been a software engineer professionally for the last 3 years. I have a Bachelor's but it's not in anything remotely related to CS. Is it possible to be working full time and doing the OMSCS and succeed?

Yes, it is doable. I worked full time, and managed to take two classes my first semester, and a couple of other semesters I took one class and TAed another. Plan on having it take up all of our evenings and weekends. It won't always, but often will. For a couple of classes I even had to take some vacation days to finish up a project.

So it's totally okay to just maybe take 1 class a semester?

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#205

Post by MechEStudent »

I'm a working engineer in Ohio, and I hope to start this fall. My work covers it, and the content is highly relevant.

Folks say institution-X is the same. I haven't seen one. Princeton or Stanford are, AFAICT, stunningly more expensive, and not purely remote.

This is a "sine qua non" - without this particular option, there is nothing else on the menu for me at this point in my life and career.

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#206

Post by mindvirus »

learningram wrote: post #197
mindvirus wrote: post #2

I graduated from the program in December and I found it incredibly rewarding. There are a lot of great classes, and I learned a ton - in particular, the machine learning and reinforcement learning courses were top notch, as we're the systems programming ones. One thing I'd warn though is that you'll get out of the program what you put into it - so it's really up to you to choose classes that will set up your career t…

Is there Teacher student interaction in the course ? How is it different from any regular MOOC ? Assignment/Projects ?

Yeah, most of the interaction takes place on forum software called Piazza. Some classes also do weekly Google Hangouts as office hours.

There are assignments, projects and exams - they've put a lot of effort into making it have the same quality and standards as the on campus programs, even going so far as to do blind grading in some courses (i.e. grade the on-campus and OMSCS courses as one).

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#207

Post by 7sevensof7 »

It really depends on where you are in your career. The GT MSCS is very well regarded, so it's an excellent credential - but frankly the education is quite haphazard and I don't see that improving any time in the future. Teaching quality varies highly, from great to excretable - for many classes, the model is "a little lecture, then lots of poorly-curated assignments". This consumes a lot of time, in a very inefficient manner. Yes, you will learn, but mostly by through your own effort. The very high workload is really not suitable for a professional MS program, where it has to be managed with a job. I find class workload expands without bound every semester and even one class will significantly impact career and relationships. There is no force causing workload to be decline, so I expect that the program is rapidly going to become dominated by early-career full-time MS students, in the U.S. and outside, who live with their parents and knock out an inexpensive, high-quality MS CS. For those students, it's a great choice. If you don't fit that profile, it's a poor professional choice. If you have the discipline to teach yourself via MOOC classes, you will get a better education delivered much more efficiently - but that doesn't carry the credential. So in short - if you need the credential and can devote full time, it's an excellent choice. If not, I do not suggest it.

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#209

Post by fildamis »

BlackjackCF wrote: post #204
EricThompson wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is doable. I worked full time, and managed to take two classes my first semester, and a couple of other semesters I took one class and TAed another. Plan on having it take up all of our evenings and weekends. It won't always, but often will. For a couple of classes I even had to take some vacation days to finish up a project.

So it's totally okay to just maybe take 1 class a semester?

Yes, but it all depends on your ability and capability to strain yourself beyond normal, just for the short duration compare to the benefits in the long run.

Re: Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It?

#210

Post by luckydude »

trentmb wrote: post #68
xxSparkleSxx wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did a masters an Johns Hopkins and completed it all online. It's a similar style program where you can do it all online, on campus, or as a combination. Still cost me slightly over 40k even though Innever stepped foot on campus. It's a total rip-off, but only in the sense that I couldn't get a decent paying job without a masters (work in biotech).

> It's a total rip-off I've always been under the impression that most masters degrees are money mills for the university. They expect your employer to foot the bill.

MS in CS from UW-Madison here. Also taught CS240B to masters students at Stanford.

Stanford masters seemed almost entirely like a money mill.

Wisconsin masters was a much better education in my opinion. Worked you harder, it was actually worth the time I put in.

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