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Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

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Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#41

Post by reenorap »

KellyCriterion wrote: post #30
reenorap wrote: post #21

TAKE THE JOB OFFER. You can always get your Masters if you get laid off. Jobs are precious especially for new grads. Do not make the mistake of passing over this job offer, it’s worth so much more than a masters degree. You can always get your master’s later on, for example if you get laid off from Amazon and can’t find another job.

haha, you CAN, but you WONT - here is why: The thing is, when you leave university and you have tasted the first salary, it usually does not happen that you go back to university and have a 50-60% cut becuse of being a student again. From my earlier cycles, NONE of the "i-will-finish-MA/MS-later-while-in-the-job" succeeded - and these were people much more intelligent than me: The minute you leave university and say…

Jobs are precious right now, especially at a name brand big tech company. That is worth much more than a masters degree. Having real job experience is hard to get right now so forgoing that for further education that is only incrementally useful over a bachelors degree is not worth it

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#43

Post by chudi »

Go to Cambridge. If you already have an Amazon offer at your skill level, with extra education it's going to be easy to have something similar or even better. Besides, those types of opportunities come rarely in one's life you have to have the correct amount of free time and the ability to take them. Working for a corporation can wait.

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#44

Post by Symbiote »

Cambridge.

You'll have no problem getting the Amazon job (or similar) with a masters degree from Cambridge afterwards.

I doubt you'll retire wishing you'd worked just one more year at Amazon.

(I have a masters from Imperial. An equally good alternative if you'd prefer to live in London, or prefer somewhere a little more business focused. Google and Amazon both skipped the first interview stage based on my degree.)

Also if you ask Amazon, they're very likely to keep the job offer open for a year.

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#45

Post by HeavyStorm »

Probably masters. Few reasons:

- it's easier to keep going than to come back from a job. - our industry is changing, heavily, and I have no idea what shape it'll be in in four years time. - I think that AI is making much of the experience of an entry level redundant. What you get from your masters might make more of a difference.

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#46

Post by superb_dev »

If the goal is simply money, take the job now and play the corporate game. There’s a lot of money to be made being cut throat.

If you have a genuine love for computer science and the craft of programming then steer clear from the corporate world. It will suck the life out of you.

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#47

Post by yablak »

superb_dev wrote: post #46

If the goal is simply money, take the job now and play the corporate game. There’s a lot of money to be made being cut throat. If you have a genuine love for computer science and the craft of programming then steer clear from the corporate world. It will suck the life out of you.

if the goal is simply money, the cs masters is probably still the better long-term bet.

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#48

Post by aquickbrownfox »

VirusNewbie wrote: post #42

100% amazon. real world experience is worth 10x more than degrees.

This ^

That said… Amazon does suck as a company to work for but you will learn a lot of useful and transferable skills. Stay long enough, but not too long.

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#49

Post by iainctduncan »

Do the masters. None of us know what the hell is going to happen with coding as a job right now, but a graduate degree carries weight well outside its narrow area. If coding goes to complete shit and you're in or done school, you'll be in a great position in two years to pivot into something else for a PhD. If you're just working, well you're just another layoff.

Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?

#50

Post by rspoerri »

if you're used to the money, it's much harder to go back to studying. Also if you get to have a family you are unlikely to start studying again.

studying typically requires you to think broader, while companies usually want you to take a very specific role.

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