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Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

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Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#31

Post by tw_hn_3_9_2021 »

Your background: a BS in Chemistry with hobbyist knowledge in C++, Python and SQL. You like VR and graphics. You live in Canada. You are not a Canadian citizen, but can communicate in English.

Your goal: To become a VR software developer with a successful company, a VR developer at someone else's company, a graphics developer, any developer at all, in that order.

Your method: Obtain a MS in CS, also in Canada, which will take three years.

My recommendation: I do not know of any VR companies in Canada. I do not know of any VR start ups in Canada founded by those with non-traditional CS backgrounds. I do not believe your odds of either starting a VR company in Canada or obtaining employment in VR in Canada to be high. I believe you must move to America to obtain such a position with substantial likelihood.

Graphics is a field with a high knowledge bar. The graphics software developers I know are not just interested in graphics, they are passionate in graphics. Without graphics they would lose part of themselves. They will take substantial, six-figure, pay cuts to work in graphics and expect that passion in other graphics engineers. I do not know if you are that passionate about graphics. I recommend you work in a field other than graphics, which is known for its high-skill and low-pay.

A MS in CS can serve as a foundation for further skills. It can also serve as not a foundation for further skills. I have not met an engineer who has benefited from a MS in CS and I know several such engineers. They did all benefit from leetcode.com however. Perhaps you will prove me wrong. I recommend you do take the MS in CS in whatever you wish to work in, perhaps graphics, but also take courses in things you do not wish to work in, like Perl. Take the time to also prepare for professional interviews.

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#32

Post by nzmsv »

Here is another angle to consider. Depending on your country of birth, a Masters can shave years off the time it takes to get a green card in the US (look up EB2 vs EB3 wait times for your country). The Canadian computer industry is tiny compared to Silicon Valley and compensation does not measure up. You are likely to make your way to SV sooner or later.

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#33

Post by 2rsf »

> Given that background and my goals

many answers ignored that... in your case something relevant to CS would benefit you, especially since you lack significant experience so recruiters need something to look for in your resume.

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#34

Post by stevegalla »

Maybe this is a BC thing, but you should consider a second degree in computer science.

UBC [1] and SFU [2] both offer them in BC. I’m not sure if Ontario schools offer them.

From what I understand it’ll be hard to be admitted to a Canadian based CS masters without doing a second degree in CS.

UBC has some advice [3] for those students who have math, stats, electrical engineering, computer engineering or other similar degrees. The course offerings look to be about 8-10 courses depending on your background. Potentially 2-3 years of background work before grad school.

I don’t have a masters or graduate degree. Always check with the department and school you want to apply to. Some things I have been told while a student at a Canadian university follow:

- often there are specific sequences of courses required to be considered a strong candidate. These courses may be advanced electives that aren’t required for graduation. Figure out what courses admissions would use to consider you a strong candidate. Probably 400 level algorithms and CS theory courses. Take those and get As.

- Canadian MS programs usually have a research based component. There is an expectation you have faculty recommendations for research projects you’ve worked on.

If you’re interested in graphics and other specialized topics, you might need to take additional undergrad courses. See information for prospective grad students section for more [4].

Lastly CS and SE are not the same. To do CS, you’ll probably need to know how to program to implement your research. Beyond that, there will be a lot of discrete math and algorithm knowledge you’ll need to use for proofs.

[1] https://www.cs.ubc.ca/students/undergrad/degree-programs/bcs...

[2] http://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2019/summer/programs/com...

[3] https://www.cs.ubc.ca/students/grad/prospective/applying/eli...

[4] https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~sheffa/students.html

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#35

Post by jacobmischka »

I completed mine last August, and I haven't used it to strongarm my employer into giving me a raise (yet), nor have I started looking for other jobs (yet) because I enjoy my current position; so it's provided me zero financial benefit thus far.

That being said, I definitely think it was worth it. I enjoyed the time back in academia after a few years off after my Bachelor's extremely enjoyable, and I feel like I learned a lot and grew significantly as a learner during that period. I am reading CS research and fundamentals texts in my free time, and I feel as if I continue to benefit from those couple years every day. I also forged relationships that haven't yet "paid off" in any discrete sense but still bring me joy to reflect on.

Certainly, I could have done all of these personally beneficial things without the degree, but I probably wouldn't have, and I highly doubt it would have been as fun.

Granted, as an American, I now have a few extra tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt as a result, but that hasn't yet begun to destroy my life, so I'm mostly just hoping that either I'll be able to pay it off eventually without much hassle or the federal government will get its act together and wipe it away (fingers crossed).

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#36

Post by fm2606 »

I obtained my M.S. in Cs in 2015 and have ZERO regrets doing it.

My undergrad is B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. In 2000 I got my 1st job as an engineer and after about 6 months was completely bored. This started a series of job jumping for the next 3 years. In 2003 I landed what was supposed to be my dream job of working for a company that makes small, civilian airplanes. Again I hated it.

Around 2004 I started taking EMT class, at night, and then paramedic. The county fire department was hiring right when I graduated with my paramedic. The catch was I had to cross train as a fire fighter, which they paid for. I took the chance and loved it.

Around 2010 I noticed a lot of people in the FD leaving due to getting hurt, main their backs. As the main, and sometimes sole-, breadwinner I knew I needed a backup plan. I enrolled at DePaul University online and enjoyed every minute of it. I graduated in 2015.

In 2017, while working full time as a FF/PM I got a part time remote job as a programmer.

In 2020 as everyone knows the pandemic hit. I was already getting tired of the 2 a.m. calls for stupid shit and the threat of the Covid virus was the tipping point. I started sending out resumes for remote, full time developer positions. In June 2020 I landed a job and resigned from the FD after 14+ years.

Here we are 9 months later and I do not regret my decision at all. Who would have thought a consistent sleep schedule is magical! :-)

My decision to join the FD and time served is probably some of my best years working. I still say that being a FF/PM is the best job in the world but it is a young man's game.

So, yeah a masters for me was way worth it. Though I might have been able to land a programming job without one, I needed the degree as much for myself as I did for showing potential employers.

Good luck in your decision

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#37

Post by torqu3e »

TLDR - Read this https://ozwrites.com/masters/

Longer answer...

Have you seen https://teachyourselfcs.com/ which is literally a tailor made resource for teaching engineers to be better programmers rather than a language. It's easily a year worth of material but followed along will put you ahead of the average joe bootcamp grad trying to land the same job.

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#38

Post by sjg007 »

Yes it will help you transition from Chemistry to Computer Science in terms of jobs and reputation.

You can probably complete it faster than 3 years if you want. The key to a software engineering job these days is algorithms and data structures as well as the programming. You can of course learn all of this outside of a masters degree. Since you have some time you should do that, then maybe you can focus on VR, GPUs and 3D graphics. I think VR and 3D graphics might require math e.g. linear algebra and geometry so that might be something to consider as well.

I would pick a program where you can write a masters thesis on a graphics/VR project and hopefully do that at a place that has a research group in that area.

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#39

Post by 908B64B197 »

md5wasp wrote: post #20

From my perspective (ie, opinion), probably not. I've been hiring engineers for a few years, and I've come to associate a CS/IT Masters + unrelated undergrad with bad candidates and generally use it to filter _out_ candidates (unless something else on the resume catches my eye). Conversely someone with a science degree and a bit of experience (or some decent personal projects for fresh career-switchers) is a much bet…

> I've been hiring engineers for a few years, and I've come to associate a CS/IT Masters + unrelated undergrad with bad candidates and generally use it to filter _out_ candidates (unless something else on the resume catches my eye). Conversely someone with a science degree and a bit of experience (or some decent personal projects for fresh career-switchers) is a much better sign.

Same observations here. Except if they worked in software during their undergrad (as an intern for example) or minored in CS and majored in something else.

Undergrad in CS and a Masters is also typically not a red flag.

Re: Ask HN: Is a Master's in CS worth it?

#40

Post by cafard »

It was for me. A long-ago BA didn't look as good on the resume. Also, my employer paid for it, which is common among federal contractors who can write off payments for courses that "maintain or improve existing job skills".
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