/sci/ - Science & Math

>>11985764
fuck cs

>>11985764
>somewhere on the lines of Columbia or Princeton should I go 50k debt for it?
Aim for better universities. If not, those are fine too.

>>11985780
I'd be lucky to go to a school in the top 20.

>>11985764
Or you could try to make some money, and see if you can actually cut it in the industry. As masters isn't going to help you get a CS job. Work experience, and projects on your CV will.

It's not necessarily wrong to want a top-tier university credential, but whether for personal affirmation, or professional benefits, getting on in CS probably doesn't make much sense. Consider a tech management degree, or logistics, or something else that might help you get into a management position in CS. But I think you should try to get some real experience first.

>>11985797
Its mostly personal ambition. I think I'll end up just working a little before but I kinda just want to get school over with since I'll be 30 and I ideally want to have a family started by 35 or so.

I'll admit OP, I was in your same shoes. I went to a low 50s college (Purdue), and decided to get a master's degree for clout. I ended up getting into the #1 master's degree for my program, and the acceptance was still like 10 - 20%. I put this way: you will take on 50k - 80k more debt, but the prestige of that university will carry on with you for your entire life. You will have permanent clout, and you shouldn't devalue that. It can open doors and get you to new highs.

So is it worth it on paper? Depends on how you see it. In a straightforward practical sense, no. But if you value your place in society, then it is absolutely worth the debt. Sometimes you may even make 10 - 20k extra starting out compared to a Bachelor's.

>>11985797
On top of that I dont want to have to bust my ass during my BS when I could just work hard earn a 3.2 or something and have some fun while in school. Because if I shoot for a 3.7 I feel like school is all I'll be doing these next three years. I dont want to waste effort but at the same time if I do eventually decide to go to grad school I don't want my choices to be limited.

>>11985797
OP could get a 1 year master's (MEng) in CS. They do projects and coursework instead of research.

>>11985813
College is what you make of it. You should be trying to ace any class that is relevant to your career. Generals are annoying, but also usually easy enough to get As. If anything, I'd take some more difficult classes like Linear Algebra and DiffEq and really try to assimilate the information. You really don't have anything better to do. It's not like you can't have fun and also study. Just part.y on Friday nights, enjoy some fun day activities on Saturdays, and study on Sundays. Then study at least a couple hours every weekday night.

>>11985807
Working may also give you a better idea of what kind of masters you should get.

>>11985809
I totally agree with you. And having this permanent clout for me I feel is just amplified cause when I was younger I and no one around my thought I'd amount to shit. And the fact that I can end up attending a really prestigious university and have that accomplishment for the rest of my life as something I can look back and say I did is worth the money to me.

How did you handle the debt post college?

>>11985828
Exactly. I was extremely mediocre in high school and now people shit their pants when I say my uni. Even if I become a drug addicted retard, at least I will still be remembered for my uni achievements.

>how did you handle the debt post college
I will be completing my master's next year, so I am not sure. I am perfectly fine living like a hermit and plan on purely focusing on paying off the debt in the next 5 years. Depending on your standards of living, YMMV.

>>11985764
>online masters at Georgia Tech
Not sure how their online grad school compares, but Tech's undergrad CS program is world class. I'd go that route if the online MS carries a similar weight to the in-person program.

Yes, if you're going to do something do it right. Get the high GPA regardless in case some day you decide you do want to do a masters.

>>11985845
Thanks man for your advice. Good luck to the both of us brother.

>>11985764
Apply for the Doctorate. Work hard for a couple years but not too hard and you’ll get kicked out with a free Masters

>>11985859
The in person and online MS look exactly the same on the degree if thats what your wondering.

>>11985873
goodluck getting into a top tier PhD program with sub 3.8 GPA and at least a few published paper by undergrad. Master's is much easier to sneak into

>>11985874
Seems like the best option by far, assuming OP's primary interest is clout from a master's degree at a prestigious institution.

>>11985874
>>11985874
I don't think going in debt economically is the best route. Education starts to see diminishing returns after a bachelor's, if you can't pay for it you might have to work for a while and save up?

>>11985880
Eh it would do but something about the online thing just doesn't feel authentic to me. Sure on paper I'll be a Georgia Tech grad but I won't feel like I actually attended it.

>>11985883
I'm sure I'd be fine. But I'm kinda thinking of just working a couple years living frugally and saving a ton. Then going to grad school.

>>11985890
Tech is still in the top ten nationally for a CS MS. Any reason you can't attend in person?

>>11985890
Well does grad school really interest you? Like, I wouldn't continue my education just for the sake of doing it. I personally am interested in robotics/ai for the sake of manufacturing and because it's just fun to do. I know there's researchers in my area making self driving cars with GM and Ford or whatever, and I think that's just so cool. Ultimately, going all the way to a PhD would probably mean you earn less over the course of your life. So doing it for the money is self defeating.

>>11985890
>something about the online thing just doesn't feel authentic to me

Antiquated thinking. Besides, you're in your 30s and it's grad school. It's not like you're going to be joining the boosters club, painting football helmets, and going to sock hops. You missed the widow for that experience (and it barely even exists now as it is). Focus on getting your credential and making money. This fixation on the aesthetics of a "university experience" are understandable given late 20th century media and social conditioning, but its all in your head and counterproductive.

You're old. Do you own any equity? Do you have any investments? Do you have any liquid assets? No? Then get serious, make money, and get mental images of sitting on a bench in a sweatervest reading textbooks under fall foliage out of your head.

>>11985907
>joining the boosters club, painting football helmets, and going to sock hops
To be fair, I've definitely met grad students at Tech who were totally into that sort of thing.

>>11985893
I could its just I know it'll be just as expensive as the other schools I was looking into. And desu I'm not so thrilled about "Georgia" most of the schools I was look into were in Cali, the Northeast and the Great Lakes Area

>>11985764
I'm in a similar situation. Study CS at a Tier 2 university in India. Should I aim for a Master's? UK and America are my preferred destinations.

>>11985924
if you just want to come here and work like everyone else a bachelors should be fine.

>>11985907
True. I get what your saying but the in-person things you mentioned are not really on my radar for what I mean as being authentic or not. Plus I'm doing my undergrad at a school that does have your typical college experience setting so I'd get that there. Not that its super important or anything.

I'd do it online if I had to but ideally I want to be in person.

>>11985916
I'm definitely kinda shilling for GT here, but it's got really awesome student life. The only people I've met that didn't love their experience were the ones that couldn't keep up academically. I'd at least give it a visit before you write the location off.

>>11985911
Sure, if they're 23, and never left college in the first place, but it's pretty lame dragging that stuff into your mid to late 20s. I know people who got degrees in Higher Education just because they liked the college town vibe and never wanted to leave. Getting to make $35K and effectively stay in college seems cool when you're 25, but wait a few years. Also, the current social environment makes it much more difficult to chill and fuck undergrads. So what's the point?

>>11985924
Stuff I read said that getting your masters greatly benefits those who want to immigrate to the US.

>>11985933
The point is that you have a short life and can only fill it with so much things you want to do, and for some people that includes post-grad. Some it doesn't. etc.

>>11985764
CS people with a masters almost universally are incapable of writing software and often get passed over. Seriously. Companies don't want to pay you more for being incompetent.

It doesn't matter unless you are a lawyer or doctor.or maybe want to get a PhD for research. Mostly lawyers because their firms can use the school as advertisement.

I work in InfoSec, make 150k already and went back to get a master's in CS from some school called University of Illinois Springfield. I'm 1/3 done. It's one of those schools where you really only get what you put into it, and the class choices are severely limited but you can pick all the classes you want.

They did just get a grad level algorithms course which is cool. I'm also taking ML, Deep learning, Practical AI for InfoSec and a few other interesting classes. Grad CS is is pretty lame everywhere as far as what you can pick. Top tier schools will have more classes on genomics and bio related stuff, or offer an entire semester on studying specific types of algorithms and also have more theoretical courses and shit for if you want to get a PhD and do research somewhere.

Its only for "requires master's degree" checkbox but also because I have 1 year of GI Bill left and didn't want to let it go to waste.

I've never seen any anybody get hired because of the clout of their school. I've interviewed people who had ivy league schools on their resume for CS and I didn't hire them. I've seen plenty of resumes with top tier schools listed, but all a hiring person cares about is experience and how well you do on the interview.


>>11986017
>>>11985764 (OP)
>CS people with a masters almost universally are incapable of writing software and often get passed over. Seriously. Companies don't want to pay you more for being incompetent.

Where I work they prefer a masters for nearly all IT positions. That said, Interviewed some people with "Masters in Cybersecurity" and they didn't know shit. Unless you have experience nobody will be interested. It's a long hard road, but IT is great because you can give yourself experience in a lot of areas.

>>11986863
How do you get experience if you don't have experience

>>11987234
And they wont hire because you don't have experience

>>11987234
Internships are a good start.

>>11986863
>Where I work they prefer a masters for nearly all IT positions.
There are red flags non-retards watch out for when on a job search, and this is one of them. Guaranteed to have a bunch of useless coworkers.