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Master’s Degree in Computer Science

evanp.me

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Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#111

Post by barry-cotter »

selfhifive wrote: post #86
barry-cotter wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Data Structures and Introduction to Algorithms: everyone needs this and it is maybe 50% of leet code problems What’s the other 50%? I’d have thought DS&A would cover everything.

A standard Introduction DSA course will generally not cover advanced DSA stuff like segment trees or Heavy-light decomposition, or theoretical stuff like number theory, or computational geometry all that stuff you would find in the competitive programming space.

Are there companies that ask a lot of leetcode bards in their interviews? That seems like overkill even for FAANGs though I can see why some groups might do so purely to filter by Math ability/interest.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#112

Post by justinlloyd »

I've gone and gotten a mid-career masters (or five). I went because I needed the self-validation. Terrible impostor syndrome.

I carefully evaluted every programme. I spent probably a year or two looking at different programmes, not through analysis paralysis, but because I was looking for programmes that had things that interested me and weren't either simply a shake-down for money or getting lost in proofs and theorems. I do better with project based work that builds up, rather than term papers and exams, which I am terrible at. I know myself, so I picked appopriately. My wife is the complete opposite.

My focus for picking a programme is always "show, don't tell" when it comes to "how do I demonstrate my knowledge in this subject." It is what works for me. Pick what works for you.

There are a lot of good master's programmes out there, but you really have to do your due diligence and not just rely on some website that screams "100 best online master's degrees!1!"

Look in to Open Classrooms, Thomas Edison, Structuralia, and several others just as a starting point. Don't get lost in the rigid academic weeds of North America. There's an entire world out there to explore.

It comes down to "are you looking for academic rigor that leads to more academic qualifcations later" or "are you looking for an education that will serve your professional needs." Most programmes are the former, and few are the latter.

I spent about $10,000 on my most expensive one. I spent 3K on my cheapest one. There was no difference between them in terms of what I got out of them.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#113

Post by nmeagent »

evanmoran wrote: post #65
tclancy wrote: post #52

Does anyone have experience with the step down from this? I have zero formal CS education but two decades of experience at pretty much all types of development. I live within spitting distance of my local state university (UNH) and don’t really care about any piece of paper, but I would love to take formal/ hard CS classes, whether for credit or audit. Is there a “right” way of doing this? Does it make any sense?

I taught my spouse to program when she decided to change fields, and did a similar thing where she wanted to master the advanced stuff by taking classes (she took them for credit on the off chance she needed it in a masters program) The classes she took were equivalent to three classes majormajor suggests: Data Structures and Introduction to Algorithms: everyone needs this and it is maybe 50% of leet code problems As…

The school where I earned my CS masters required those with non-CS undergrad degrees (like myself with a BS in a hard engineering field) to take 12 semester credits of additional coursework to make up for this fact. I'd say those three subjects account for about 9-10 of those credits. I suppose you could say they're important.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#114

Post by elefanten »

HWR_14 wrote: post #101
slotrans wrote: post #93

No way this guy earns his money back. There is no salary premium for a CS master's. Employers that want to see one are places you don't want to work. I mean, if you want to do it just for fun, knock yourself out. Just don't delude yourself about what you hope to accomplish.

Don't the various corporate pure-ish research labs require a masters these days? The ones that may or may not work on things that turned into products? Or do the need a PhD ? I can see a lot of people wanting the job of "play with cool toys and don't be responsible for products", especially as a mid-career transition.

Broadly that’s PhD level. At companies actually doing cutting edge it’s ONLY PhD… especially given that one of their major outputs is academic papers.

SeparateLy… I find the same line gets used both for and against this degree: “the Masters is the new Bachelors”

FOR: to say the Masters is now the expected baseline — you need it like you used to need a Bachelors.

AGAINST: to say it’s already been watered down and/or too much quality variance - that it gives about as much signal as a Bachelors.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#115

Post by plafl »

Sirened wrote: post #104

related but unrelated: does anyone have experience going back for a PhD/transitioning into academia after years in industry? I can't find many people who've done it, most of the professors and grad students I've ever spoken to either ended up working at a lab as their "industry" work or just went straight to grad school.

I'm trying to do a PhD part time while working although I don't plan to go to academia, now or in the future.

For me it's a way of focusing on some topic related to my work: I'm a machine learning engineer and I'm doing the PhD in AI/optimization. I have spent just a year on it so success is still far away.

I know people however that went back to academia but they had some previous experience for example as teaching assistants.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#116

Post by pedrosorio »

selfhifive wrote: post #86
barry-cotter wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Data Structures and Introduction to Algorithms: everyone needs this and it is maybe 50% of leet code problems What’s the other 50%? I’d have thought DS&A would cover everything.

A standard Introduction DSA course will generally not cover advanced DSA stuff like segment trees or Heavy-light decomposition, or theoretical stuff like number theory, or computational geometry all that stuff you would find in the competitive programming space.

> segment trees or Heavy-light decomposition, or theoretical stuff like number theory, or computational geometry

I am not sure if there are any problems on leetcode that require any of these, but based on a sample of a few of their contests, if they exist they are a very small fraction (The vast majority require:

- no DS&A knowledge whatsoever

- basic techniques (recursion, simple graph/tree algos, binary search, simple dynamic programming)

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#117

Post by lelanthran »

cm2012 wrote: post #35
donthellbanme wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is when you have paid the tuition, and finished the degree, it's so hard to objectively rate it. I have a Bachelor's degree from a decent state school in California. At the time, I felt the courses were too easy, and my four years were a bit of a waste of time. I remember going to a graduation party, and you would think we graduated from med school. The graduates were carrying on like it was so rigrigrous…

I use to feel contempt for people really proud of graduating college. The actual college courses were all pretty easy compared to the difficulties of the rest of life at the same time - caring for family members, scraping together rent, etc. Someone proud of graduating college when all they had to do in the 4 years was study was upsetting to me. I have a more mature perspective now, you never know what struggles peop…

> I use to feel contempt for people really proud of graduating college. The actual college courses were all pretty easy compared to the difficulties of the rest of life at the same time - caring for family members, scraping together rent, etc. Someone proud of graduating college when all they had to do in the 4 years was study was upsetting to me.

>

> I have a more mature perspective now, you never know what struggles people have and the courses are really tough for a lot of people.

Well done on you! I occasionally run into past versions of you. They usually dismiss my BSc degree and my MSc degree with an attitude that is similar to:

"I learned real lessons at the school of hard knocks. While you were partying with your college friends and memorising useless theory, I was making ends meet and learning practical programming by actually doing it."

Truth is, I've never been to f/time university. After school I (very briefly) apprenticed as a auto mechanic for a short while, then left to work in a factory assembly-line (12-hour shifts, all night-shift, 7 days a week) for a little more peanuts than an apprenticeship paid.

I used almost all of my meagre income to pay for part-time university (work at night, study+sleep during the day). Halfway through my second-year courses I finally caught a break and got a job as a computer-lab assistant at a nearby university.

It wasn't actual programming work (show new students how to log in, refill printers with paper, help students who destroyed or lost their access cards, etc), but it left me a lot of free time to waste on usenet, which is where I found my first actual programming job.

I don't narrate my origin story to those past versions of yourself, though. There's no point. Their self-identity includes their own bootstrapping story about how degrees are pointless.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#118

Post by drunkenmagician »

evanprodromou wrote: post #69
drunkenmagician wrote: post #3

All the best for your studies. I also decided to do a mid career masters, but as I did not have a completed undergrad degree I opted for an MBA in AI via a “non prestigious” UK university, as I also wanted part time, online and cheap. I’m a 3rd way through now.

Good luck in your studies!

Thank you. Although I expect luck and some hard work will be required to complete

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#119

Post by kettleballroll »

knicholes wrote: post #48
wirthjason wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a more mixed experience with the OMSCS. Overall it's a good program, and if the choice is between Udemy or OMSCS then it wins hands down. For me the central issue is online vs. in-person. Education is an interactive experience, the value of a good professor and classmates is helping to identify issues when you are stuck and nudge you just enough for you to connect the dots. As an undergraduate I liked attendin…

I was in the second or third cohorts, and I dropped out during the first course because the assignment was to write their registration system for them for free. They had specific requirements for Java, MySQL, etc. If I'm going to work, I'm sure as hell not going to be paying to do it.

I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound credible. You wouldn't let potential newbies write an important part of your infra. Plus a credible school has more than enough software developers. Might it have been the other way around, that the people who actually wrote the system have designed assignments that are based on their experience? That's something I sometimes did when I held classes: nothing gets you closer to a realistic real-world practice problem than the one you just solved yourself

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#120

Post by petesergeant »

evanprodromou wrote: post #67
petesergeant wrote: post #15

Consider Oxford’s MSc in SoftEng: http://softeng.ox.ac.uk

Thanks! I was looking for a program at Oxford. USN&WR has it at #11 worldwide for CS. The SE program at Oxford doesn't seem to be available for 100% remote study, though. Am I missing something? I love this informal, friendly Web site, and I might be looking in the wrong places.

I can’t speak to what the current sitch is, but when I was there you had to be onsite for 11 weeks over four-five years. Quite a few Americans would fly in for it
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