I am trying to decide between CMU MS in Software Engineering (Bay area) offered through the ECE department and UIUC MS in Computer Science with thesis.
UIUC - full ride via TA/RA positions
CMU - I’d have to pay out of pocket but would have some chance to do research (45k / year)
Since this is a Master’s program, I care about prestige and name / out of school job opportunities and for future MBA programs - it looks like CMU has higher prestige.
I have also been accepted into the GA tech online Master’s CS program which I could do with CMU (part time) but not with UIUC. So I am considering either 2 MS from GA tech (CS) and CMU (SE) or 1 from UIUC MS CS with thesis.
I have no intention of pursuing a PhD and would love to live in the Bay area compared to Urbana, IL but doing research in machine learning/artificial intelligence and writing a thesis sounds interesting though I am not sure it has any benefit in industry. I do want to work in machine learning / computer vision as an engineer in Industry, and don’t see myself doing too much research.
My question is: is it worth it to pursue a double degree (CMU MS SE, Gatech MS CS) for 45k/yr or should I go live in Urbana for 2 years and finish my MS CS w/thesis for free? Does the thesis matter at all - will I be able to work in the field I want (ML, CV, AI) without a thesis? Which schools have more prestige in industry?