Is it possible to do both?
In my country you can study at weekends
If not, then take job imo.
Salary and real world experience >> academic bullshit
Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
81–90 of 103 posts
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#82Reddit is full of desperate crabs pulling you down into the bucket. Go to Cambridge, that's literally a once in a lifetime opportunity.
>Go to Cambridge, that's literally a once in a lifetime opportunity.
For what exactly?
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#83Masters, or even a PhD might be the play long-term, as software is very likely to become even more commoditized than it is now. A Master degree (even in a non-computing field) or a computing-adjacent PhD might give you expert knowledge required for a field to remain in computing until you decide to retire.
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#84Reddit is full of desperate crabs pulling you down into the bucket. Go to Cambridge, that's literally a once in a lifetime opportunity.
(Funny. What is meant there with "crabs"? Is it a typical behaviour of crabs to hold each other (so getting stuck "in a bucket", in the said case)?)
Supposedly yes.
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#85If your goals are flexibility and money I'd adgue the masters deprives you of both.
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#86Cambridge no brainer.
Amazon is not a particularly good company to work for, and if you could land an offer there, surely you could land a better offer by the time you graduate.
The opportunity cost here is very minimal if you think slightly longer term. In fact the doors that Cambridge might open down the road could far exceed whatever money you save as a L3/4 at Amazon.
If it was Cambridge vs a frontier lab or HFT offer of > 400-500k then it might be a harder decision, since it's likely that those are still the top jobs you would want after graduation.
Cambridge masters is much more of a once in a lifetime opportunity than Amazon is. People who tell you to go take the job probably are projecting and just want a job themselves.
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#87Do what you want to do
Both options excite me for different reasons - so what now? :)
if you're money interested probably amazon -- they might fire you in a few months but it's a brand name and you'll be onto a new job in no time
Vs grad school is expensive and another 2 years of no income?
But idk my friend, amazon sucked a long time ago, it sucks even more now. sorry to be a troll
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#88Definitely take the job, amazon is not an endgame place to work but its a really good stepping stone
You learn a ton of stuff there as a new grad
CS masters degrees are not really a differentiator in the job market, in my experience the exact same jobs are filled by people with bachelors/masters
Employers are not like "we really need someone with a masters, get me someone with a masters"
I would only do grad school if you actually want to do research/applied research
Keep in mind that a lot of the people on this website are late in their careers (and bored by them) and take having a job for granted so doing a masters sounds more exciting to them.
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#89Cambridge. Train the human, not the machine. Amazon will still be there, if that’s what you decide for your soul afterward. If you made the cut now, you’ll make the cut again in future. The world is so much bigger than commerce. Even if you choose to work the world of commerce, you’ll have a richer experience of it, and bring more subtle value to your professional career, entering into it with eyes that can see other…
This! So long as OP is under 40.
Re: Ask HN: Should I do a CS masters at Cambridge or start as a new grad at Amazon?
#90I've not worked at Amazon, but work in other big tech. If you were my son, I'd tell you to pursue Cambridge. Amazon employment isn't that special. (i've been in industry for 18+ years, went to a name brand school, and live in the heart of silicon valley. Cambridge, i'd imagine, gives you at the least a more interesting story, and at the most a different opportunity set. amazon is now the lower bar of what you should…
Yeah but you take it for granted because you've been in the industry so long
Obviously its not that exciting to an 18 year veteran