Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education? • Hacker News Board

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#231

Post by arcturus17 » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 5:55 PM UTC

camjohnson26 wrote: post #187

thrav wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consulting straight out of school is a really tough sell. Consultants are most often considered valuable by their employers because of their experience in a given industry. I would not want to try to pitch myself as a consultant as a foreigner with little to no American work experience. If you’re doing it yourself, sales will be a challenge.

To speak more strongly, it’s going to be impossible unless you’re a rock star.

But not necessarily a technical rock star… If you’re really good at sales and you can somehow procure the technical talent elsewhere, you might be able to pull it off.

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#232

Post by nly » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 5:56 PM UTC

phsource wrote: post #150

One reason that often gets glossed over (including in this article) is how (non-online) Masters programs are huge moneymakers as a ticket to working in the US. I've seen that in CS programs at University of Buffalo and Yale, a majority of Masters students are from abroad, especially from Asia. Basically, if you wanted to work in tech in the US, you could either: - Find a multinational company in your home country, wo…

Or...find and marry an American?

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#233

Post by tomrod » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 5:58 PM UTC

ghaff wrote: post #183

tomrod wrote: post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are a few industries I'd consider as targets for economics. Management consulting and litigation consulting are top in those.

Yes, but many of the partners at those firms who are "economists" probably have PhDs. I imagine it's also fairly common for banks, trading firms, and the like to have economists on staff but my point is that they're likely not mostly undergrad (or even Masters) economics majors.

Indeed. There is a ceiling without the advanced degree!

Banks surprisingly hire few economists outside of information/trading groups and, for the more quant heavy, risk groups.

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#234

Post by rybosworld » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 5:59 PM UTC

hedgehawk wrote: post #215

alanfranz wrote: post #134

Recent OMSCS graduate here, and I was already working as a software engineer. I learned a lot, I'm very happy with the experience, the price is totally reasonable (around $7k) and it's a kind of education which suits and is oriented to adults. I totally recommend the program. But, I totally understand the issue with a $50k Master's.

Would you recommend OMSCS for someone trying to switch into tech but has some only some CS coursework in undergrad (OOP, discrete, DS&A, an unrelated major like Biology) ?

It's one way to make the career switch but possibly not the best. As with most things, it depends on your circumstances.

What OMSCS offers imo is:

- an elite CS education

- specialize in topics that interest you

- very low cost (I'll have spent around $8k total by graudation)

- the flexibility that naturally comes with an online-first education

What it doesn't offer:

- a starting point for someone with near zero cs-background (if this is you, it will be a hard program)

- job/coop placement

- networking is hard imo

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#235

Post by Frost1x » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 6:12 PM UTC

dboreham wrote: post #202

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming you're actually smart and skilled - wouldn't it be better to just start your own consulting business, or if you're really ambitious, eventually an agency? Aren't H1-B visa workers mostly in extremely HCOL areas and significantly underpaid / taken advantage of? I imagine if you're from India and you really want to get out of India - this sounds like a good deal (although wouldn't $50k for tuition be hard to g…

That H1-B workers are "taken advantage of" is a myth. Yes some of them are but it isn't the case that if you hold such a visa you are being underpaid. Source: was an H1-B holder.

Depends on the industry and profession. A lot of professional healthcare workers are hired well below competitive market rates.

Source: partner was one, doubled salary after, is friends with dozens more who went through the same exploitation now making significantly more.

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#236

Post by ncfausti » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 6:12 PM UTC

wffurr wrote: post #40

My masters degree in Computer Science was incredibly educating and opened many career doors for me. It filled in a lot of gaps that my undergraduate education left, and significantly raised my profile amongst recruiters. CS might be the exception to the rule about Masters degrees though.

Similar experience here. I did a BA in 'Information Technology'. It wasn't until after I graduated that I taught myself to program through Stanford lectures on YT. The MSE in CS was incredibly beneficial for me.

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#237

Post by arpinum » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 6:15 PM UTC

BlissWaves wrote: post #156

arpinum wrote: post #95

At at top 10 school in the UK: masters and even doctorates are being essentially sold to foreign students. The standards are incredibly low (students getting degrees without functional use of English), but the revenue to the university is essential. There is a business risk if schools try to maintain standards (students have paid for degrees, not learning), but the cumulative effect is that I completely ignore gradua…

In engineering?

Business school

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#238

Post by cool_dude85 » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 6:16 PM UTC

vericiab wrote: post #227

onlyrealcuzzo wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming you're actually smart and skilled - wouldn't it be better to just start your own consulting business, or if you're really ambitious, eventually an agency? Aren't H1-B visa workers mostly in extremely HCOL areas and significantly underpaid / taken advantage of? I imagine if you're from India and you really want to get out of India - this sounds like a good deal (although wouldn't $50k for tuition be hard to g…

I used to work for a small tech company in the suburbs outside of St Louis, which is definitely not a HCOL area. When I left (to move back to a HCOL tech hub), probably about half of the engineering staff were H1-B visa holders. This was because we often had trouble finding qualified candidates that were either already local or willing to relocate to the area. Visa sponsorship was a much more compelling reason to rel…

>This was because we often had trouble finding qualified candidates that were either already local or willing to relocate to the area. Visa sponsorship was a much more compelling reason to relocate than anything we could offer US citizens.

Seems rather unlikely. What I guess you might mean is that you couldn't find qualified candidates at the pay ranges you were offering.

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#239

Post by arpinum » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 6:17 PM UTC

markus_zhang wrote: post #157

arpinum wrote: post #95

At at top 10 school in the UK: masters and even doctorates are being essentially sold to foreign students. The standards are incredibly low (students getting degrees without functional use of English), but the revenue to the university is essential. There is a business risk if schools try to maintain standards (students have paid for degrees, not learning), but the cumulative effect is that I completely ignore gradua…

This reminds me an episode of Yes Minister but I didn't expect it to go down that fast. Is it the same for STEM as well?

I don’t know about the STEM fields, this is from the business school, which is a cash cow funding other programmes.

Re: Master’s degrees are the second biggest scam in higher education?

#240

Post by hedgehawk » Sat, Jul 17, 2021, 6:19 PM UTC

rybosworld wrote: post #234

hedgehawk wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would you recommend OMSCS for someone trying to switch into tech but has some only some CS coursework in undergrad (OOP, discrete, DS&A, an unrelated major like Biology) ?

It's one way to make the career switch but possibly not the best. As with most things, it depends on your circumstances. What OMSCS offers imo is: - an elite CS education - specialize in topics that interest you - very low cost (I'll have spent around $8k total by graudation) - the flexibility that naturally comes with an online-first education What it doesn't offer: - a starting point for someone with near zero cs-b…

I feel like I have the necessary foundations of CS so I think it is a good starting point for me but the main goal is to maximize my time to get the necessary foundation in CS to do well at my job as well as open up my possibilities such that recruiters don't throw away my resume once they see "Biology with CS coursework".

In terms of networking and job placement, I am thinking of applying to in-person masters programs (USC, UCLA, Stanford, and Cornell) but that would put be in some debt (40-50k). After reading this article, I am utterly lost.