
Ask HN: Should I get a Master's in CS? - anonymous94
I've seen some relevant threads:<p><pre><code>  - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=180780
  - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=754426
  - http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=180743
</code></pre>
But I have a slightly different perspective.<p>I am a rising senior at UPenn studying CS and business, and I have the opportunity to "submatriculate" to get a Master's in CS.  It would be one extra year.<p>I have worked on some interesting projects, but nothing huge.  I want to work at or create tech startups for my career.<p>If some entrepreneurial opportunity opens up, I'll take that hands down, but I think it's likely I'll have to choose between a job at Microsoft/Google/Amazon/etc and a Master's.  Would the extra year at a big tech company or the degree be better for my long-term goals?<p>Many thanks for your thoughts.
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tjr
I wish I would have stayed in college for a master's degree, especially had it
just been one extra year. Work will be there forever, but once you're at work,
it can be hard to get back to school.

(The primary benefits I personally see to a master's degree are more options
for getting work teaching (which I like to do... you might not), and a
possible edge in some work environments. I've done lots and lots of software
work that probably doesn't use much more computer science knowledge than I had
before I started college, so I hardly think the graduate degree is required to
do well at work...)

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evanmoran
I went the Microsoft direction and learned a ton. These large companies don't
make billions by accident. Clearly they aren't as agile as some companies are
but the scope of what they do is tremendous. You get the chance to see how
software is made for millions and then actually see millions use it. It's a
wonderful thing, trust me.

In reading the other comments I was surprised at how many people would choose
the masters degree. In the end it is just an expensive piece of paper. It only
means something if the next people in line think it does. Let me be honest and
say a startup will likely not care that you have it. A large company would
give you a level jump and with it a 5% raise. And academia would care the
most, but that doesn't sound like the direction you want to go.

Now don't get me wrong, college is a great ride and I can see the temptation
to hang on just for that. For me, in hindsight, I can say honestly that the
job route was right for me. I learned about the business of software -- my
chosen profession. I paid off my not-so-small loans. And I saved up and
started a company. This was my path and it was a good one. It worked. It fit
me. I suppose it might fit you as well..

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russell
I have neither a CS degree or a Masters, but I would say if it's only a year,
go for it. The world is really competitive for newly minted CS graduates,
although probably less so for UPenn, but the masters still puts you at the
head of the line. Even in the entrepreneurial world it may still help in fund
raising. Grad school is a good place to look for like minded founders.

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tsally
The choice is obvious is my opinion. Saving one year of your life (getting a
masters in one year instead of two) is extremely valuable. If you think you
will _ever_ get a masters, take the opportunity to do it in one year. If you
can get jobs at those companies now, you certainly can still get them with a
masters degree.

The only reason not to get a masters degree now is if you would like to study
at a different school.

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anonymous94
That's a good way of thinking about it. I guess the issue is that I'm actually
_not_ sure I'd ever get a masters (if not now).

So -- would I be closer to my goals foregoing a masters (for all time) and
getting an extra year of work experience?

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jhancock
I doubt that getting a one year jump on work will be more valuable than
spending the year and doing the masters.

Look at it this way: What are the odds of your first startup being a big hit?
If you think its incredibly high, then I'd say you are "high". Instead think
about all the collateral and experience you will need to get through multiple
startups before you hit a big one. The one year more in school should pay
higher dividends than the one year jump in the work place.

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BrandonWatson
I graduated Penn in 1997 with BA, BSEcon and MBA. I was undergrad class of
1996 in the M&T program (Systems Engineering, and in Wharton I dualed with
Finance and Operations & Information Management). I was granted permission to
submatric into Wharton to get my MBA. I interned at MSFT summer of 94 and 95,
and Morgan Stanley in 96.

With all that as a preamble, staying the one extra year cost me nothing, and
has opened many, many doors. That one year, in terms of your earning power, is
pretty small in the grand scheme of things. Further, the extra degree has
materially boosted my earning power a decade on. However, I stayed to get my
MBA because I thought I wanted to be a VC. Turns out I am an entrepreneur at
heart.

If you think you want to create startups for a career, staying in school
doesn't help you with that goal unless you use that year to basically have a
subsidized year of starting a company. You don't learn startups from school.
You learn the from doing.

I am more than happy to discuss offline - my contact email is in my profile.

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longx223
I went with one of the 3 companies you have listed there right out of college
and if I had an option for a Master's degree I would have taken that. Like tjr
said, work will always be there. The company might "pay" for it but they still
expect you to work the 50+ hour weeks while you are going to work and school.

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justlearning
where is it more interesting (in terms of meeting people,learning every day
opportunities) Forget about whether those learnings can be used today or
later.

Where would I meet interesting people and get to learn every single day, and
even at the coffee station? where is it better? at work? at school? - is the
question I would ask myself.

~~~
BrandonWatson
Don't forget about the people you will be enabled to meet tomorrow (meaning
the future) because of the choices you make today. That extra year of school
opens up a whole new network of people. As I get older (mid thirties now), I
am discovering how woefully I underestimated the value of "networks" for my
professional life. I'm not talking about the fake facebook friends, or even
twitter followers, but the bonds forged by the common experience of school.
You'd be surprised how many people will take your call just because you went
to the same school as them, even 20 years after they did.

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newsdog
Get it. The Bachelor's is too depreciated these days.

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jlintz
It's one extra year, take it. The companies you mention, they all work with
large amounts of data and are generally working on problems not many other
companies are dealing with. You may learn some math or comp sci theories that
could one day help you with an "Aha!" moment while on the job.

