Is a masters in cs worth it?

GLOBALTRAVELER
Sat, 19 Oct 2013 09:30:16 +0000

At my company, software engineer openings are usually advertised as “BS required, MS preferred”. I think this is true for most of the selective tech companies.

@GLOBALTRAVELER: Most graduate CS programs don’t offer a graduate-level data structures courses, and most MS programs don’t have many required “core” courses (I only have 3). Instead, you gain depth in subjects like machine learning, computer vision, parallel computing, distributed computing, crypto, and so on. In other words, subjects that are only lightly introduced in undergrad courses



And…

If I was a working software engineer (which I am) and went for a master’s degree, I would NOT go for a full MSCS, I would just take the advanced courses in machine learning, computer vision, parallel computing, distributed computing, crypto, and so on while wrapping all of those in a Systems Engineering/Engineering Management type of degree.

While it is true that many senior software positions will ask for a M.S. degree, they do not specifically ask for a MSCS. Most employers will just ask for an M.S. I did the B.S. Math/M.S. Systems Engineering route. Since my primary expertise is databases, I took a little 3-course/9-credit group of database/data-mining courses and the rest of the systems engineering degree which included project management and quality management courses which come in handy for senior team-lead positions.

I just do not think one needs 10 CS graduate courses.