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Pursuing Masters Computer Science
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Pursuing Masters Computer Science

GaNiGaNi Member
edited December 2014 in Help

I am planning on pursuing Masters(Graduate) in Computer Science specialization in Networking & Communications in teh USA. Would like to know if anyone has a good university recommendation. My GRE score isn't that great, 300. So experienced graduates, students enlighten me.

Thanks!

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Comments

  • MicrolinuxMicrolinux Member
    edited December 2014

    It's relatively rare to find a Masters program with a network-centric track, I'm not even sure what you would do with a such a degree. You may want to consider a bachelors in CS and a Masters in a business-related area.

    Thanked by 2netomx Spencer
  • It honestly depends on how much you want to spend and the living costs.

  • all i can say is good luck dude
    and make sure you finish it ..

  • Don't get a masters unless you want to teach. In CS, merit is the most important attribute - not a degree. Get a bachelor degree, then get into the job market. In a year companies won't care about your bachelor degree, only your current achievements in the industry.

  • GaNiGaNi Member
    edited December 2014

    I already have a bachelors degree in Computer Engineering.

    @black

    $30k/year

    @MicroLinux

    Many universities offer campus placements directly into reputed corporations. Currently, bachelors degree is of no value in my region.

  • raindog308raindog308 Administrator, Veteran
    edited December 2014

    GaNi said: Currently, bachelors degree is of no value in my region.

    Then move.

    If you're young, you need to have some geographic flexibility or your career will easily stall.

    Yeah, I know, easy for me to say because I'm not in your shoes but going where the jobs are is one of the best things you can do for your career. You need to weigh it against the rest of your life, of course.

  • MicrolinuxMicrolinux Member
    edited December 2014

    @GaNi said:
    Currently, bachelors degree is of no value in my region.
    black

    Region, or do you mean field? Master's degrees have pretty limited application in the CS field outside of teaching, hardware design or management (in which case a business master's is better to have).

  • GaNiGaNi Member
    edited December 2014

    @raindog308 said:
    Then move.

    If you're young, you need to have some geographic flexibility or your career will easily stall.

    Yeah, I know, easy for me to say because I'm not in your shoes but going where the jobs are is one of the best things you can do for your career. You need to weigh it against the rest of your life, of course.

    This.

    @Microlinux said:
    Region, or do you mean field? Master's degrees have pretty limited application in the CS field outside of teaching, hardware design or management (in which case a business master's is better to have).

    Region. Companies here don't really care about your degree unless you got a masters or come out from a really good college/university. I did my bachelors specifically in electronics and communications and have a keen interest in doing further studies in networking since electronics wasn't really my deal. Besides, I always thought that better the degree, better the job on your plate. (unless you got field experience)

  • raindog308raindog308 Administrator, Veteran

    GaNi said: Companies here

    BTW, where is "here"? As precise as you like...just curious if you mean US, England, Guam, Bolivia, Mongolia...

  • @raindog308 said:
    BTW, where is "here"? As precise as you like...just curious if you mean US, England, Guam, Bolivia, Mongolia...

    Asia

  • MicrolinuxMicrolinux Member
    edited December 2014

    @GaNi said:
    Besides, I always thought that better the degree, better the job on your plate.

    That depends on what you mean by "better". If you mean more money, having a Master's or a PhD doesn't mean you will earn a higher salary. In fact, given the reason you might get one of those degrees, you may earn less.

    I find it very strange companies in your region require a Master's degree for technical jobs -- that really makes zero sense given what a Master's degree is, but the world is what it is . . .

  • Where in asia are you? Where do you want to get your degree?

    I would think there are some decent schools in HK, Singapore and maybe also in the Philippines (which would likely be very cheap).

  • @GaNi, I'm finishing up my masters at Johns Hopkins University in the same field. They have an electrical engineering and a computer science side that you can pick from. I started out in the electrical engineering side but switched to the computer science side since it's more relevant to my work. I would recommend the program. It's high quality, and the professors really focus on ensuring you understand what's taught. My only gripe is the price (~3.6k per class), but international students will have to pay a lot no matter where they go. Ping me if you have any questions.

    Thanked by 1GaNi
  • My degree path was about half infrastructure and half networking. My degree didn't get me a job, it's the people I knew. I had my job months before I had my degree.

    Thanked by 1creep
  • @TheCTS said:
    My degree path was about half infrastructure and half networking. My degree didn't get me a job, it's the people I knew. I had my job months before I had my degree.

    ^ +1 .

  • @amhoab said:
    GaNi, I'm finishing up my masters at Johns Hopkins University in the same field. They have an electrical engineering and a computer science side that you can pick from. I started out in the electrical engineering side but switched to the computer science side since it's more relevant to my work. I would recommend the program. It's high quality, and the professors really focus on ensuring you understand what's taught. My only gripe is the price (~3.6k per class), but international students will have to pay a lot no matter where they go. Ping me if you have any questions.

    JHU is out of my league :(

    @TheCTS said:
    My degree path was about half infrastructure and half networking. My degree didn't get me a job, it's the people I knew. I had my job months before I had my degree.

    Getting a job isn't really a big deal, but getting the one you've always dreamt is what. Good for you!

  • Masters can be a good way sometimes, but not sure about networking-track. My friend was did a master's at a state university in the States, finished it like top of his class and (and had good job experience before the master's) got a job at one of the cool social media firms.

    Make sure master's will get you good job opportunities in that field (networking).

    Do you want to work in the US or back in your homeland?

    For a good job in the US, like beginnig sallary 80000+/yr you should go to top universities or be top of your class at least, with job experience.

    For an inbetweener university, paying US-level tuition might not be smart. I don't know what your GRE score amounts to right now, but will check.

    If you can't go to the better universities of the US, I suggest you stay in Asia like Singapore (National U), Korea (KAIST), Japan (multiple possibilities) if that's possible, or go to Germany and save a shitload on your tuition, with €0 tuition.

  • @kerouac

    Yes, I am looking for a job at US itself since the development of the field here is not quite good here, thereby less opportunity.

    Currently, I've looked at few with my eligibility criteria. IIT: http://science.iit.edu/programs/graduate/master-computer-science-specialization-networking-and-communications

    California: CSU (Long Beach, Sacramento) and San Diego.

  • How about try in as many univ as possible.

  • I also recommend masters by research. Faster to finish than by course

  • @GaNi said:
    Yes, I am looking for a job at US itself

    Then it's virtually worthless to get a Master's degree in this field. A Master's in business is generally going to be more appealing to an employer in the long run. Graduate with your Bachelor's and eventually get your employer to pay for the Master's. Insist upon pissing your own money away if you want, up to you.

  • @Silvenga said:
    Don't get a masters unless you want to teach. In CS, merit is the most important attribute - not a degree. Get a bachelor degree, then get into the job market. In a year companies won't care about your bachelor degree, only your current achievements in the industry.

    And a time will come when you will have job offers and you have to select one. :)

  • At least you got one recommendation of a specific uni.

    Do you know what line of work and what kind of company you want to work for in the future? I'd partially agree that experience counts for a lot more. Most of the folks I know that got into 'webmastering' in the 90s didn't have degrees of any sort and are mostly self-taught, though some had experience in IT already. I know someone who was head hunted by Google for their European marketing division, who came recommended and highly regarded in the industry. He was asked what degree he had in the interview and they didn't hire him purely on that basis. Crazy world, but that's the entry bar for their company.

  • GaNiGaNi Member
    edited December 2014

    @Microlinux said:
    Then it's virtually worthless to get a Master's degree in this field. A Master's in business is generally going to be more appealing to an employer in the long run. Graduate with your Bachelor's and eventually get your employer to pay for the Master's. Insist upon pissing your own money away if you want, up to you.

    No offense, I dont understand why do you keep suggesting business, may be from job point of view ok, but I'm a technical person. My degree is technical, I wish to work for technical position. If I were to do business I wouldn't have chosen US at first place since business school are pretty good here.

    Thanked by 1amhoab
  • GaNiGaNi Member
    edited December 2014

    @Ricardo

    Networking based Corporations? Wouldn't initially look for a Top notch, but would work my way up.

  • No education recommendations from me, though I'd suggest (if you haven't done already), looking at job descriptions for those kind of companies, and see if they have a minimum requirement for academic achievement. FWIW I'd say a couple of years of uni is adequate unless you wanted to gravitate towards R&D. I'm sure you get the gist why, rather than me rambling more without giving you uni recommendations like you asked.

  • TheKiller said: And a time will come when you will have job offers and you have to select one. :)

    I'm not even looking and I get a couple emails a day and at least one voice message asking for interviews. :D

    The market for computer science is huge in the US. I know of more than a couple of companies that want to hire to reduce their outsourcing (also means I have to fix Indian code everyday :( ).

  • MicrolinuxMicrolinux Member
    edited December 2014

    @GaNi said:
    No offense, I dont understand why do you keep suggesting business

    Because it's more desirable. You will find very few "technical" jobs that need or value a Master's degree in your stated field, especially if it's not from a university with a good reputation in that specific area. I think you should do more research on exactly what a Master's degree is and why you would want it. Generally speaking, they are not geared towards in-field "technical" positions, thus they offer little value in that area.

    When you get into to the real world you will discover there are things just as important as "technical" knowledge when it comes to advancing your career and making decisions at your job.

    Really, you'd best talk to an advisor at your intended University.

  • SpeedyKVMSpeedyKVM Banned, Member

    With a masters with no work experience (anything under 3 years is useless) you will be highly unemployable IMO.

    Get RHCE, CCNA, or Juniper certs to increase your chances of employment. Masters means piddly squat. A bachelors and then a RHCE or CCNA makes you highly employable.

  • I have friends with various backgrounds, (EE, ME, Chemistry engineering, Bio) and steered the career path by CS master degree. But most of them are in developer/tester camp, none of them goes through system engineer/DevOps path.

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