
Questions of a prospective MS student - subhro
Does it make sense to do a MS in Computer Science after 7 years of work experience as a Linux System Administrator? What are the chances that someone may lose seniority in the job after MS?
======
CyberFonic
You may find that there is a huge difference in the knowledge you have
acquired as a SysAdmin and that required to complete a MS. If you do decide to
pursue the studies, I would expect that you will be looking for a very
different role based upon your additional (although green) level of CS
knowledge.

You didn't say what sort of organisation you work for. Maybe you should
discuss the idea with HR, there might be a career development path open to you
that will allow you to better integrate your newly acquired skills. Maybe,
doing the studies part-time would be better than full-time.

~~~
subhro
Thank you so much for your response. I have worked for both MNCs like Yahoo
and Juniper and startups like iXiGO. I have served as the Senior Engineer and
Information Systems Architect for these positions.

I have mostly seen that the work culture in India is not what I like to work
in. I have recently tried working for Facebook in Ireland. Apparently that did
not work out very well either primarily because of the kind of work they gave
me was mostly NOC sort of job. My take on why I was given such a job was
because probably I did not have a MS and they did not take me seriously
enough.

I have demonstrated taking companies from scratch through a PCI-DSS
certification, so I am capable of doing better than NOC jobs. Also, I would
like to work for or setup my company in the US.

Unfortunately, I do not know any HR or forum where I can ask this question.

------
codeonfire
Do you mean that you are thinking of not working while completing your MS? If
so, the lost income is worse than losing seniority. Just do night school if
you can. it can be tough but we are talking about two years of income here.

It does make sense to do a MS, but have a job in mind like network engineer,
developer, or technical manager that you want. A MS will be frowned upon by
your bosses and your competitors, which is all the more reason to go for it.
Nevertheless many corporations with strict pay scales will pay much more for a
MS.

~~~
subhro
I was considering going for GRE and then taking a break for 2 years to
complete MS. I have not thought of night school and that does serve to be a
very good option. Nevertheless, I would prefer to work in the US and study.

The last I went to work for Facebook in Ireland, I found that they gave me a
much less salary and designation than that I would have got if I worked in
India. This may not be correct since FB never told me that the reason was my
lack of MS.

I have worked for MNCs like Yahoo and Juniper and also startups like iXiGO and
iViZ. My position with Juniper as well as iXiGO was Senior System
Administrator and Information Systems Architect respectively.

I am essentially looking at a Technical Manager or Architect position. I do
develop for pleasure, but I am more into designing things and coding stubs
rather than coding end to end.

------
yashchandra
"that someone may lose seniority in the job after MS"

In the US, there is no such thing is seniority in the job (barring some
exceptions in govt. jobs etc). You are senior based on your experience and not
just because you are a fresh MS graduate but with 7+ years of experience.
Hzaving said that, the answer to your question depends on what you really want
to do going forward. MS in CS is a lot more than System Administration. Are
you interested in software development jobs ? Web development ? I would say
think twice before going for an MS which will take 2 years of your time. Based
on your post, you are in/from India and I can tell you that just getting an MS
will not automatically get you in a higher salary range or designation as you
call it at least here in the US. Indian working culture is different than the
US in that sense.

