Masters Degree in Computer Science
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I'm wondering where can one go with this degree? I'm currently going for my Bachelors degree, but I'm considering grad school afterwards. So what can I do with this degree?
edit: That I can't with a bachelors.
edit: That I can't with a bachelors.
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A Masters in CS will just provide more in depth studies. As far as what you can do with it, typically the guys with Masters in CS are either professors or computer scientists. Note: There is a huge difference between a computer scientist and a computer programmer. I've only met one programmer in my life that actually had a CS Masters and he was a VB programmer, bored out of his mind. It's silly, I can't tell you how many Java and .Net developers I know that do not understand computer architecture, number systems, simple foundations of CS, physics, calculus etc... The thing is, they don't need to know any of this stuff. This may be thanks to the abstraction High level languages provide that over time make you lazy and it's is fine for most though since the typical business has no need for assembly programmers or ridiculously optimized systems.
So ultimately it comes down to the question, what do you want to do? If you plan to just program for a living and that's it, spending your days writing update statements to an Oracle db and passing around xml files, then no a masters will probably not benefit you outside of an interview. But if you wanted to work in R&D, embedded systems, compiler design, games, or really any low level system, then a masters is for you. Also, depending on the university you may not even learn anything new. I've seen many universities that just repeat course material and hit you with triple the work load.
One final note. It is actually rarely beneficial, outside of becoming a professor or Computer scientist, to get your masters degree and then go into the work force. The simple fact is employers are more likely to hire a guy with a bachelors that now has 2-3 years experience than a guy with no exp. with a Masters.
So ultimately it comes down to the question, what do you want to do? If you plan to just program for a living and that's it, spending your days writing update statements to an Oracle db and passing around xml files, then no a masters will probably not benefit you outside of an interview. But if you wanted to work in R&D, embedded systems, compiler design, games, or really any low level system, then a masters is for you. Also, depending on the university you may not even learn anything new. I've seen many universities that just repeat course material and hit you with triple the work load.
One final note. It is actually rarely beneficial, outside of becoming a professor or Computer scientist, to get your masters degree and then go into the work force. The simple fact is employers are more likely to hire a guy with a bachelors that now has 2-3 years experience than a guy with no exp. with a Masters.
Then a masters degree I shall obtain :D
As for getting the degree right after my bachelors, I've always been told that's a bad idea for the majority of fields. So I'm going to go with my plans of getting experience after my first degree, and then going back for the masters.
As for getting the degree right after my bachelors, I've always been told that's a bad idea for the majority of fields. So I'm going to go with my plans of getting experience after my first degree, and then going back for the masters.
closed account (1yR4jE8b)
There is no reason that you can't start working and get your Master's degree part-time while you work. This seems to be standard practice, and is what I plan on doing next year when I get my bachelor.
I think higher education is always a plus. I plan to get my Masters and Ph.D. right after I get my Bachelors. I can probably squeeze in a part time job and in the long run, it's definitely beneficial. Personally I like learning so I don't have problem spending my time doing what I want to do.
By the way Return 0, what is your opinion on getting a Ph.D. and the future prospect concerning employment and enjoyment in the field? Is it worth it?
By the way Return 0, what is your opinion on getting a Ph.D. and the future prospect concerning employment and enjoyment in the field? Is it worth it?
| thepedestrian wrote: |
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| what is your opinion on getting a Ph.D. and the future prospect concerning employment and enjoyment in the field? Is it worth it? |
If you plan to work as a professor in a top notch CS University, then I think the Ph.D MIGHT be of value, even so I don't see it being of any benefit. Never in my life have I met a person outside of a university that had a Ph.D in CS and I have never seen a position require it. I do not believe there is much ROI in obtaining one outside of achieving a personal goal perhaps.
While I imagine it is impressive on a resume, it comes back to the same issue that employers prefer experience over education. I do however recommend a masters for anyone that wants to be more than just a programmer, although being more than a programmer is really dependent on the individual. As darkestfright mentioned, you can easily get your masters while you work (but it can be rough at times) and many reputable universities including Stanford and I believe MIT offer Masters programs completely online which might be an option once your career is rolling.
Thanks Return 0. Really appreciate your insight.
I do plan to teach sometime during my career and like you mentioned, it will be really beneficial.
I do plan to teach sometime during my career and like you mentioned, it will be really beneficial.
| thepedestrian wrote: |
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| I do plan to teach sometime during my career and like you mentioned, it will be really beneficial. |
Great to hear :) definitely go for it then.
I don't know how the system works in other countries but in my country based on a Masters graduate experience told to me, getting a Masters can be by Course work or Research. Most opt the Course work approach as it is like studying and there is a higher chance of getting the Masters.
Now for PhD it is entirely different ball game. You can research until you are 80 but still not get the PhD simply because to get PhD you need to come out with a PhD thesis paper that is *unique* and it must be vetted by a panel of PhD holders from different countries Uni in your line of research discipline. So we can see lot's of Masters graduates but we don't really have lot's of PhD holders.
As for employment opportunities, Return 0 sum up what I want to say. Most PhD, Masters graduates are in academic industry or if in commercial they are most likely employed in the R&D department/division in the organization.
Now for PhD it is entirely different ball game. You can research until you are 80 but still not get the PhD simply because to get PhD you need to come out with a PhD thesis paper that is *unique* and it must be vetted by a panel of PhD holders from different countries Uni in your line of research discipline. So we can see lot's of Masters graduates but we don't really have lot's of PhD holders.
As for employment opportunities, Return 0 sum up what I want to say. Most PhD, Masters graduates are in academic industry or if in commercial they are most likely employed in the R&D department/division in the organization.
There are also masters for project management and business. It all depends on the direction you want to go. I would wait and decide later if you aren't working already. Definitely get one, though.
| moorecm wrote: |
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| There are also masters for project management and business. |
A masters in project management has no value in the industry unless you plan to be a portfolio director... the most boring job on the planet. If you go the project management route which is outside of computer science really, then a simple PMP certification will do. That's what employers are looking for. As far as an MBA, again this won't help in a CS career and may not help much period as it is the most obtained degree out there... I can't tell you how many people I know have one.
closed account (z05DSL3A)
small aside:
Can anyone explain the US education system, in terms of academic qualification, with respect to the UK system?
Secondary (Years 7 - 11) {ages 11-16} General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSEs)
Sixth Form* (Years 12 & 13) {ages 16-18} GCE Advanced Level (A-levels)
University Undergraduate degree (bachelor degree)
Univeristy master's degree
Univeristy Doctorate (Ph.D)
*lower/upper sixth in secondary school or Sixth Form College.
Can anyone explain the US education system, in terms of academic qualification, with respect to the UK system?
Secondary (Years 7 - 11) {ages 11-16} General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSEs)
Sixth Form* (Years 12 & 13) {ages 16-18} GCE Advanced Level (A-levels)
University Undergraduate degree (bachelor degree)
Univeristy master's degree
Univeristy Doctorate (Ph.D)
*lower/upper sixth in secondary school or Sixth Form College.
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I'm pretty sure year 7 is grade 8, year 9 is grade 10 and so on (in terms of ages).
I think this is right:
Primary school -> elementary school
Secondary school -> middle school
College/sixth form -> high school
University -> college/university
I don't know though. This has long been a confusion of mine.
I think this is right:
Primary school -> elementary school
Secondary school -> middle school
College/sixth form -> high school
University -> college/university
I don't know though. This has long been a confusion of mine.
| chrisname wrote: |
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| Primary school -> elementary school Secondary school -> middle school College/sixth form -> high school University -> college/university |
Yeah that's correct.
closed account (z05DSL3A)
Another thing that I would like to know about is the qualifications. I hear things like "graduated high school" and majoring in X and minoring in Y and Grade Point Average (GPA), I would like to make sense of this.
I'm not sure; they have something called being a "freshman" and a "sophomore" and that part really confuses me. I think a freshman is equivalent to lower sixth (me) and a sophomore is like upper sixth form. I don't know about the majoring/minoring conundrum.
GPA has to do with the average grade. I think a 4.0 GPA is the highest but you have to get all As for it or something.
GPA has to do with the average grade. I think a 4.0 GPA is the highest but you have to get all As for it or something.
closed account (z05DSL3A)
To me it sounds like they don't do individual exams per subject but do a course and either pass it or fail it.
I really shouldn't post until later in the afternoon because this is an unbelievable distraction, but I think I can clarify the freshman/sophomore issue.
Freshman: 1st year of U.S. high school (14 years of age)
Sophomore: 2nd year of U.S. high school (15 years of age)
Junior: 3rd year of U.S. high school (16 years of age)
Senior: 4th year of U.S. high school (17 years of age)
---EDIT---
GPA in the U.S. is indeed on a 0.0 - 4.0 scale, where 4 indicates a perfect score, and 0 indicates complete failure.
There are examinations available per-subject to receive credit. However, these are offered by third parties that the government recognizes (an well-known one being called the College Board); I don't know of any per-subject examinations that either the state or the federal governments offer.
-Albatross
Freshman: 1st year of U.S. high school (14 years of age)
Sophomore: 2nd year of U.S. high school (15 years of age)
Junior: 3rd year of U.S. high school (16 years of age)
Senior: 4th year of U.S. high school (17 years of age)
---EDIT---
GPA in the U.S. is indeed on a 0.0 - 4.0 scale, where 4 indicates a perfect score, and 0 indicates complete failure.
There are examinations available per-subject to receive credit. However, these are offered by third parties that the government recognizes (an well-known one being called the College Board); I don't know of any per-subject examinations that either the state or the federal governments offer.
-Albatross
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Our exam boards are all private companies; the main ones are Edexcel, AQA and OCR.
Edit: actually, OCR is a charity.
Edit: actually, OCR is a charity.
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Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior are 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year of undergraduate college also in the states... A Major is the degree you are going for or rather the main field of study, and a minor is an extra field of study under a degree... I think. We didn't have a minor in the University I was in. It was called "area of application" or something like that. That may not be the same thing though.
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