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Master’s Degree in Computer Science

evanp.me

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Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#171

Post by bo1024 »

advael wrote: post #147

I view university education as poor-to-useless vocational training for software engineering as well as most if not all careers that aren't explicitly research-focused, and I say that as someone who's gotten a master's degree in computer science, intended to get a PhD, and for the most part didn't for financial reasons. I really enjoy and respect academia, but it exists to train researchers, and the more advanced a de…

I agree with some of the premise —- university education doesn’t focus on preparation for specific vocational skills.

But you could say the same about high school. It doesn’t follow that reading writing and algebra are bad vocational investments, in fact the opposite because they support many possible vocations.

As a CS professor, my goal is to push students to rewire their brains in ways that are better and more effective. It is also for them to gain foundational understanding that will allow them to learn advanced vocational skills. I teach theory so software engineering may be different. But of course I don’t want to teach something that will mainly be useful only for the next 2-3 years of their career, I want to have an impact on the next 20-30.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#173

Post by [deleted] »

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.

[deleted]

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#174

Post by hardware2win »

m12k wrote: post #139

I have a master's degree in software engineering. I honestly never felt that the two years to do my master's degree added much on top of my bachelor's degree that I couldn't just as well have learnt in two years of working in the industry instead. To be fair, I think the content of my bachelor's degree was quite good, setting me up with a foundational understanding of algorithmics, program analysis, interpreters, pro…

That is consistent with my experience

Masters is just for degree

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#175

Post by evanprodromou »

xaxaxb wrote: post #158

I know I'm gonna get downs for this but they could've just written that they want the degree for free, without doing anything that is required for a proper Master's. All in all, it looks like the author wants convenience and the cake too.

I'm very interested in filling in gaps in my CS self-education. But, yes, I do like convenience and cake.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#176

Post by JoeDaDude »

el_benhameen wrote: post #94
driscoll42 wrote: post #2

I'm personally in the Georgia Tech Online Master's in Computer Science (OMSCS) program right now and can't say enough good things about it. The coursework is rigorous, deep, and varied, you really do learn quite a bit through the program and more than just random learning on your own, you get a degree out of it. Plus you get the opportunity to do some research and publish papers.

I’m curious whether anyone here is doing/has done OMSCS with a family in addition to a day job. I would love to do the program, but I’m not sure how realistic it is to take it on with young kids in the house. Does all of your non-work time end up being consumed by coursework?

I did in person MSCS with a day job and one kid, about 7 years old at the time. It's doable with a supportive spouse. I spent one or two hours (outside of class) a during the week, and sometimes more during the weekends.

I completed this at one class per semester, except for the semester I attempted two classes to speed up the process. While I was able to complete both classes, I felt the learning suffered as I was just rushing to complete assignments in time instead of really learning the material.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#177

Post by sswezey »

As someone currently mid-career in UT Austin’s part time MS in Software Engineering program, avoid this program. I got my undergrad from Georgia Tech 10 years ago, and Georgia Tech is better in every regard.

UT has this nice list online that they never truly offer - you have at most 3 courses to pick from each semester. And to finish in 2 years you have to take the summer course, which there is one class and no options to pick from. Last summer I took algorithms… probably one of the first CS courses you ever take. I have to take whatever classes are offered every semester to actually finish in 2 years.

The program is disorganized, with you not knowing what classes offered are till a month before registration. And the program scheduling is awful. It’s a Friday and Saturday once a month. It has consistently been on every 3-day weekend.

The program does nothing to accommodate full-time workers despite its description. The courses are re-packaged regular MS courses, complete with all the homework and office hours in the middle of the work day. Sometimes you’ll have projects that are awkwardly due, due to requiring information from lectures once a month. And you will spend time doing tedious projects - most of them are not well-designed to reinforce the course material and end up being busy work.

All in all, it’s not worth it. It has marginal value a few years out if you don’t have a CS undergrad, but it’s value drops quickly with every year of experience.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#178

Post by davidrupp »

bradlys wrote: post #87
davidrupp wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did my MS in CS roughly twenty years after my BS. I can’t prove causality, but my pay went up about 25% with my first job after graduating, and it’s only gone up since. I found that the coursework re-kindled an abiding interest in the “science” in “computer science”, which may not always have direct application in my day job (Sr. SDE at Amazon; opinions my own, etc.), but is gratifying nonetheless.

I mean - were you working at companies like Amazon before..? That's gonna influence it a lot more heavily than anything else. You can certainly get a job at FAANG without having a Master's degree.

I was not. My coursework did require me to understand things like algorithms and Big-O notation much better than I had as an undergrad, so I think I was better prepared for Amazon's interview. I also think the degree made me more attractive to ThoughtWorks, which was my first job after graduating with my MS, and the experience I got working there helped prepare me for (eventual) success at Amazon. Again, I don't consider any of this causal; it's just how it happened to work out for me.

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#179

Post by lumost »

wirthjason wrote: post #27
driscoll42 wrote: post #2

I'm personally in the Georgia Tech Online Master's in Computer Science (OMSCS) program right now and can't say enough good things about it. The coursework is rigorous, deep, and varied, you really do learn quite a bit through the program and more than just random learning on your own, you get a degree out of it. Plus you get the opportunity to do some research and publish papers.

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 am also currently in OMSCS. One relatively recent change is that students actively use the slack or discord rooms for the course.

I actually found the interactive discussion to be more frequent then my (in-person) undergrad

Re: Master’s Degree in Computer Science

#180

Post by eldaisfish »

advael wrote: post #147

I view university education as poor-to-useless vocational training for software engineering as well as most if not all careers that aren't explicitly research-focused, and I say that as someone who's gotten a master's degree in computer science, intended to get a PhD, and for the most part didn't for financial reasons. I really enjoy and respect academia, but it exists to train researchers, and the more advanced a de…

this is dangerously reductive and needlessly pessimistic.

The power of a university education is on several levels. One is the community of peers that you are part of. Second is the ability to learn what you need to and to learn what the limits of your knowledge are. Tech changes quickly and no university syllabus will ever be fully up to date. Besides, that is never their goal. Third is to to provide a safe environment to try and fail. Finally, a university degree is a basic filter. Completing a degree shows an ability to learn new things, be tested and demonstrate a decent understanding. You may fault the methods or the result but the process is effective and no, bootcamps or community work are not a substitute.

A university is not all about research but research is an extremely important skill to have. it manifests in ways that you may not imagine at the time.

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