
Ask HN: Is Georgia Tech's Online Master in CS Worth It? - soneca
I would like to know if HN thinks it is worth to go through Georgia Tech&#x27;s Online Master of Science in Computer Science.<p>https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.omscs.gatech.edu&#x2F;<p>It is basically an online program of academic education in CS planned to be taken while working, costing around USD7,000 to complete.<p>My context: I am brazilian, living in Brazil, 37 yo, graduated in Economics and just recently made the career transition to become a developer. I basically studied more practical things about software development (web, mostly javascript) through free content available online. I am already working as a frontend web developer.<p>I believe this program is a good complementary source of knowledge to become a better software developer. I assume the more theoretical academic approach would benefit me as a complement to my more hands-on learning I had so far. And I also assume the Georgia Tech credentials will benefit my career.<p>So, what you think?
======
vikascoder
Current working professional and an OMSCS student here. It highly depends on
the context. Biggest pros are: 1\. This is perhaps the cheapest Computer
Science masters in the United States from a premier school. The degree is
exactly the same as offered to the residential program and the credits
acquired are all legit and transferable to other universities. I had friends
who transferred from OMSCS to a regular school and skipped one full semester
due to the credits earned. 2\. An OMSCS qualification holds way more water
than if you do random MOOC qualifications on Coursera and others. 3\. The
coursework is the same as the residential program. So if you dont believe in
studying an MS at all, then this program is nothing special. Its a Masters in
Computer Science. So It's pros and cons are the same as a regular MS. 4\. If
you are international, then having an OMSCS degree is equivalent to having a
Gatech MS degree. It is a superb add-on to your profile and also qualifies you
as a graduate level tech specialist for future Visa processing. 5\. If you are
international and looking to stay and work in your own country, then your
mileage may vary depending on your circumstances. OMSCS provides no visa
support and no career counselling. It does have an online portal for jobs but
its more geared towards residents. 6\. Other than that, it forces you to think
and study new areas of research while you work so its extremely enriching. 7\.
The program is more or less extremely well run with regular assignments,
proctored exams, 1-1 sessions with professors and what not. 8\. Some companies
reimburse your tuition, so its virtually free (at least for me)

Cmon guys, a US Masters for 7000 USD? Are you kidding me? Its totally worth
it. In fact I feel blessed that such a thing even exists. GaTech has been a
trailblazer in this regards.

~~~
rosstex
>"This is perhaps the cheapest Computer Science masters in the United States
from a premier school."

Actually, there are funded ones! Princeton and Cornell both have 2 year
thesis-based M.S.E CS programs which are fully funded + stipend. I'm starting
Princeton's in the fall. These are small programs though, I believe there's 12
of us incoming.

~~~
obmelvin
I don't know why one would even consider a non-funded research based graduate
program. Even with my tuition waived and stipend I still almost feel ripped
off despite being at a good school (UIUC MS).

~~~
sarabande
Can you expand on this? Is it because of the opportunity cost of working
during that time, or because you have to work so hard that the small positive
amount of money you come away with is not worth your labor?

------
bkanber
Worth it -- based on what metric?

My wife did an online master's degree (at a legit university that also had an
online program). You have to be very good at self-pacing, diligence, and
learning autonomously. You have to be so good at it, in fact, that the type of
person who would succeed in an online master's program is the same type of
person who would succeed in self-learning without the master's program.

So if your only goal is to learn, then I say no, it's not worth it.

However, you're in Brazil and not a lifelong programmer. Credentials may work
against you if seeking a job in the US. Many US companies look at South
America as the "nearshore" talent, much better in quality than devfarms in
India, but also still cheaper and -- because of that -- slightly lower in
quality than US talent.

In that case, spending $7k and completing the program and getting the degree
may help you get a $7k higher salary in your first (or next) job. It may give
US companies more confidence in your abilities, as you received a US graduate
school education.

So from a financial perspective and the perspective of job opportunities
inside the US as a foreigner, then I think it may be worth it. If you don't
care about getting US jobs then still probably not worth it.

Best of luck!

~~~
neuromancer2701
I would say that I am an engineer than need motivation to do course work
outside of school/work. These classes are not your average MOOC that you can
just forget about. I think there is enough structure and incentive to
encourage you on. CV was pretty brutal because it has been so long from any
decent math for me and AI was insane as well.

~~~
mywittyname
Agreed, it's easy to let things go when there's no disincentive to do so.

Plus, I tend to be more project-oriented, so I quit learning stuff once I've
built up the toolkit I need to solve my particular problem. I'm sure a lot of
other people are the same way

------
ordinaryperson
At 5K, the price is right (my in-person master's was 22K, although my
employers covered most of it) but be aware it's not the missing piece to
catapult you into superstar developer earning 170K/year.

Honestly I think your time is better spent working on real projects. In my CS
master's program I met many students with no real-world experience. One was a
paralegal before school, and after he graduated he became...a paralegal with a
CS master's. Experience > degrees, every time.

There's value in the program (algorithms and data structures being the most
applicable), but just go in with your eyes open knowing that the degree is not
a glass slipper that'll turn you into Cinderella overnight. Too many IMHO
falsely believed my program was a jobs program and really struggled to find
work in the field.

If you can do it at night while working FT, great but don't take 1-2 years off
work. It sounds appealing to be done ASAP but you're unlikely to make up that
60-120K/year in lost wages. Unless you're fabulously wealthy.

Good luck.

~~~
repsilat
> _algorithms and data structures being the most applicable_

There's really not much off that to be had -- one introductory theory +
algorithms course, one course on algorithms and complexity for parallel and
distributed programs, and after that just a few domain-specific things --
image processing and machine-learning algorithms.

I thought the program was worthwhile because it was cheap and flexible. I
could watch lectures on the train on my commute. Quality is mixed, though, and
other degrees or (as you say) real-world experience could prove more valuable,
depending on their own quality -- I wouldn't assume that _any_ programming
experience is better than this program.

~~~
SEJeff
If you want to learn about Algorithms, you need to buy the entire series on
Algorithms from Robert Sedgewick:

[https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Parts-1-4-Fundamentals-
Str...](https://www.amazon.com/Algorithms-Parts-1-4-Fundamentals-
Structures/dp/0201314525)

[https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~rs/](https://www.cs.princeton.edu/~rs/)

I don't think there is a single better source on algorithms than everything
from Robert Sedgewick.

~~~
kchoudhu
I recommend anything other than Sedgwick for algorithms and data structures.

I damned near didn't touch a computer for two years after being forced to
trudge through his books in college.

------
throwawayaug15
Logging in as a throwaway. The program only costs $5k but it was one of the
most expensive things I've done in my life.

Got a job at Google directly because of this program (a few classes like CCA
helped a lot with interviews). I'm aware of at least a couple dozen of us from
OMS here.

The program cost me dearly. It cost me my relationship with the SO and it cost
me my health (staying up late nights, lots of coffee).

* $5k cheap, it's nothing, the real way you pay for it is via your time.

* The teachers like the flexibility as much as we do. Many are top notch. I took two classes from professors that work at Google (Dr. Starner and Dr. Essa), one at Netflix (Dr. Lebanon), and a few others have their own startups.

* One of the classes was taught by Sebastian Thrun, with a TA at Google, but I think that's changed now.

* The lectures are good, but you have infinite ability to subsidize them with Udacity, Coursera etc.

* You learn squat by watching videos. The true learning happens at 2am when you are trying to implement something, and end up tinkering, debugging, etc. That's when things click.

* The hidden gem is Piazza and some of the amazing classmates that help you out. Lots of classmates that work in industry and can explain things a lot better. I.e: Actual data scientists and CTOs of Data Science companies taking the data science class. They were amazing and I owe my degree to them in part.

* Working full time and taking classes is not easy. Consider quitting and doing it peacefully.

* From within Google, I've heard from people that did the Stanford SCPD (I'm considering it) and also OMSCS. Lots of people that say the SCPD program wasn't worth the time and effort. No one yet that's said the same about the GT program.

I've heard from people that have done the program in-person, and they say the
online lectures and materials are significantly better.

~~~
throwaway98767
Can you elaborate a bit on what was said for the SCPD program "not being worth
the time and effort"?

(Googler here) I took ~4 classes, and they all seemed to be of high quality
(applied for the full MSCS, but didn't get in, unfortunately). What are some
of the opinions you've heard here?

~~~
chris11
I'm curious, do you know why you weren't admitted? I've gotten the impression
that GT was wanting to make the course relatively available to the public. Is
it still selective?

~~~
tdhoot
I think he's saying he applied for the Stanford MSCS and didn't get in, not
OMSCS.

------
lemonghost
I'm halfway through the OMSCS in the machine learning specialization. It has
been a great experience so far and definitely worth it for me.

A couple of things to consider: As you mentioned, it is more focused on
Computer Science than Software Engineering/Development. There are a couple of
Software Engineering/Architecture/Testing courses but I haven't taken them so
I can't comment on how relevant I think they are to my day job.

It's an incredible bargain... 7-8K for an MS (not an online MS) from a top 10
school in CS. That on it's own makes it worth it for me.

It's not easy and it's not like a typical Coursera/Udacity course. Depending
on which courses you take it can be quite challenging (which is a good thing).
You typically don't have much interaction with the Professors but there are a
lot of TAs and other students to help you along the way.

Here's a reddit in case you haven't come across it that answers many
questions:

[https://www.reddit.com/r/OMSCS/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OMSCS/)

And here's an awesome course review site that a student built:

[https://omscentral.com/reviews](https://omscentral.com/reviews)

~~~
bulldog13
I am starting the machine learning masters this month...what order would you
recommend taking the machine learning classes?

~~~
lemonghost
I'm taking ML in the fall and I've already taken ML4T and RL. So the order I
went in was ML4T -> RL -> ML. My understanding is that's roughly in order of
increasing difficulty (although I do suspect RL has gotten a little harder
over the last year).

Both ML4T and ML have some RL component. So there's overlap. If you're new to
python, then I'd definitely recommend ML4T first because it spends a bunch of
time on Pandas/Numpy. ML4T is also easier to get into than ML if it's your
first semester.

Take a look at the course review site also. It's really helpful in estimating
difficulty:

[https://omscentral.com/reviews](https://omscentral.com/reviews)

------
forrestbrazeal
The answer is highly context dependent. If you think the degree will magically
open up a lot of job opportunities for you, you might be kidding yourself.
However, if you love to learn and don't mind putting in the long hours, it can
be rewarding for its own sake.

(Source: current OMSCS student, hopefully graduating in December)

I made an "informed decision tree" awhile back that goes into much more detail
about my thought process when signing up for this degree:

[https://forrestbrazeal.com/2017/01/03/should-you-get-a-
maste...](https://forrestbrazeal.com/2017/01/03/should-you-get-a-masters-
degree-in-computer-science-an-informed-decision-tree/)

I also reviewed the OMSCS program in detail here:
[https://forrestbrazeal.com/2017/05/08/omscs-a-working-
profes...](https://forrestbrazeal.com/2017/05/08/omscs-a-working-
professionals-guide-to-the-7k-cs-masters-degree/)

Hope that helps!

~~~
heymijo
I'm a sucker for visualizations so that informed decision tree got me. What
did you use to make it?

~~~
forrestbrazeal
Honestly, I can't even remember now. Probably LucidChart.

------
opensandwich
I have finished the OMSCS program and in some ways I have mixed feelings about
it. My background has been primarily in mathematics/statistics and I didn't
come from a "tradition CS" educational background.

Did I learn a lot?

I learnt a ridiculous amount. For the time+dollar investment it is amazing.
The program is definitely not easy either.

It has been amazing to learn the concepts in ML (Dr. Isbell) and AI (Dr
Starner) courses and then a few weeks later think "I think I can actually use
these concepts in my workplace".

Why the mixed feelings?

Not all courses had the same quality to it. From the top of my head, AI, ML
were probably the best 2 courses. Other well ran courses I would add was
computational photography, edutech, introduction to infosec (besides the rote
learning...), however some of the other courses I had a relatively negative
experience.

The degree does suck up a lot of time and I would say it is the real deal.

Knowing what I know now I can't say 100% that I will "re-do" OMSCS - to be
fair on GaTech I'm not sure whether the challenges that I feel above are due
to an online program and I personally would be more suited to an in-person
program but the experience has definitely been better than Udacity's
nanodegree and any MOOC which I have sat.

Overall I would say if you do it for the sake of learning and that alone -
OMSCS is worth it. For any other reason please don't do it.

------
crueoj
As someone currently in the program and graduating this Spring, I have found
this program to be incredibly rewarding. GT has done a fantastic job turning
their on-campus courses into an online format. At first I was skeptical, but I
have found this program extremely challenging and have learned a great deal.
It has been fantastic in my career development as well, allowing me to land a
job in ML before I have graduated.

The program does have its hiccups here and there. Some courses have been
reported as being poorly organized, but this is certainly the minority. Also,
you may not receive as much individual attention as you would in a on-campus
program. This is aided by the fantastic community of students in the OMSCS
program which provide a support system for each other through online
forums/chat. If you are not much of a self-starter and need specific guidance,
this program may not be for you.

------
CoachRufus87
Richard Schneeman (an engineer at Heroku) wrote a great blog post on this very
topic; worth the read: [https://schneems.com/2017/07/26/omscs-omg-is-an-
online-maste...](https://schneems.com/2017/07/26/omscs-omg-is-an-online-
masters-right-for-you/)

~~~
schneems
Thanks for linking! I just saw this thread and posted too.

------
mindvirus
I graduated from the program in December and I found it incredibly rewarding.
There are a lot of great classes, and I learned a ton - in particular, the
machine learning and reinforcement learning courses were top notch, as we're
the systems programming ones.

One thing I'd warn though is that you'll get out of the program what you put
into it - so it's really up to you to choose classes that will set up your
career the way that you want it.

~~~
growtofill
Have you been working while studying? Could you share how much hours/week have
you been committing?

~~~
arpieb
I'm about to start my 5th semester (one more to go after this!) in the OMSCS
program while working full time. From my perspective, this totally depends on
several factors:

1\. Your background. This will seriously affect your time spent in many
classes. For example, if you don't know C and take a class that uses it,
you're going to spend way more time than someone already comfortable.

2\. Level of effort. Most projects have a rubric where you know what to
complete for what kind of grade. If you do the least to pass, that's obviously
going to take a lot less work than going for the A + extra credit.

3\. Interest level. I find myself spending more time (sometimes more than I
should) on the classes I really get into than ones I have to take to complete
some MSCS specialization requirement.

4\. Instructional team. As in traditional programs, some course teams are
better organized than others which can impact how much time you have to spend
staying on top of material or actually getting ahead.

In the end, it would be good to check out the OMSCS Course Surveys
([https://gt-course-surveys.herokuapp.com/#/](https://gt-course-
surveys.herokuapp.com/#/)) to see what people report for weekly hours spent vs
the factors above.

------
_wldu
I've completed the majority of the OMCS program. My specialization is
'Computing Systems'. I have a 4.0 GPA so far. I did not do CS as an
undergraduate, but I've been programming since I was very young.

Here are my thoughts on what people need to succeed as an OMCS student:

    
    
      * Be able to program in C, C++, Python and Java at an intermediate level. And, know one of these very well.
      * Be able to use a debugger (GDB) and valgrind.
      * Be able to administer and configure Linux systems.
      * Understand data structures and examples (std::set in C++ is RB Tree backed, std::unordered_set is hash table backed)
      * Understand basic networking concepts and key technologies (TCP, UDP, IP, switching, routing, etc.).
      * Understand the x86 computer in general.
    

Finally, I think some of the classes are meant to weed students out. People
may think that 'Intro to Graduate Operating Systems' would be an easy first
course for CS beginners. It's not (unless they've changed it). It was
primarily about writing multi-threaded clients, servers, caches and proxies in
C, using shared memory (IPC, POSIX Shared Memory) and various other C/thread
projects until you become a half-way decent C programmer. They deduct points
for working code that has any errors (memory leaks, etc.) too. So don't be
surprised if a seemingly easy OMCS course turns into... I had no idea. I'm
going to have to drop this course. I saw that happen to several students.

I've done well so far, but I have the programming/logic background to do the
work. If you don't, brush up on the skills listed above before enrolling.

Edit: The class projects are a lot of work. Be prepared to give-up your
weekends and evenings. Even if you know the material and the language, it's a
job to get through some of the projects.

------
learc83
If you haven't been working as a software developer long and you don't have a
background in CS, it's going to be difficult.

I'm about halfway through and many of the classes assume that you have the
equivalent of an undergrad CS degree. It's not intended to replace an
undergrad degree.

That doesn't mean you can't do it, but your going to spend a lot of time
catching up. From what I've seen, the students without a CS degree, even those
with significant industry experience, have had a much harder time with the
more theoretical classes.

It's also a graduate program, and the classes are pretty rigorous compared to
what I did in my undergrad CS degree.

Also keep in mind that admission is fairly competitive. And admission is only
probationary. You have to complete 2 foundational classes with a B to be fully
accepted.

~~~
pc86
Honestly this is what gives me the most pause. I have a BA in Political
Science from a liberal arts school nobody's ever heard of. Even if I could get
in (which is doubtful given my academic transcript and how competitive it is),
I don't think my decade of programming experience has given me nearly the
theoretical foundation I'd need to do well. And I'm not going to invest the
time and effort required just to graduate by the skin of my teeth.

Plus, I have a very good job already and it's not like an MSCS would help me
get to the next step at all. Most of why I want one is to prove to myself I
could get one. Probably the wrong reasons.

~~~
uiwldiowd
I'm kind of in a similar position. I have a PhD in a field kind of far away
from CS (although that's debatable) and am thinking of transitioning more into
CS.

The problem is that a second bachelors, while something I'm willing to do,
seems kind of problematic for various reasons. Some of the curriculum in a
typical CS bachelors seems like something I could benefit from tremendously,
but some of it is very remedial. It's very uneven.

What I'd like is something like the Georgia Tech online master's, but with
some kind of program for persons such as myself. I know some schools have
these kind of postbaccalaureate degree programs, but they're not online.

~~~
smartician
Oregon State has an online CS post-bacc program, but it's not cheap:
[http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/online-cs-
students](http://eecs.oregonstate.edu/online-cs-students)

~~~
uiwldiowd
Thanks--that's very useful to know. It is not cheap, but might not actually be
that much more expensive than some of the in-person programs I was looking
into, with in-state tuition, etc.

------
orsenthil
I have been doing this for 2 years now. I enjoy this program. There are many
students who are taking Gatech OMSCS and also taken MOOCs from Coursera,
Udacity, and EDX. The defining characteristic of good students taking this
course is, they are all self-learners, independent, and they want to learn
Computer Science without giving up on the current full-time job. I have been
keeping notes for the all the subjects that I have taken:
[http://www.coursedocs.org/gatech/index.html](http://www.coursedocs.org/gatech/index.html)
\- Have a look at it to get a glimpse of the course work involved.

Cons: I've noticed some students who come to get their MS degree from a
reputed institution because it is cheap. Due to coursework pressure, they take
short-cuts, like doing group-work, discussing solutions when you are
prohibited, plagiarizing in assignments, etc.

------
hnrodey
What are some of the prereq's to be prepared to be successful with completing
this degree? Asking as someone who graduated with a CS degree from almost ten
years ago (wow, time flies). I've been programming/development pretty much
that entire time but I think I have forgot most of the core math and core CS
concepts that might be necessary in a CS masters degree.

It's hard for me to estimate how much prep I would need to do to come in to
this program and feel comfortable with the tasks at hand.

~~~
arpieb
I had been out of school for 12 years when I started the OMSCS program (and my
last degree wasn't in CS), but have also been working in the field for a
while. I'd strongly suggest brushing up on:

* Linear algebra, matrix arithmetic, some calculus (you run into differentials occasionally, esp in ML coursework).

* Be comfortable with basic algorithm analysis, namely "Big O" assessment. (There's a course for more in-depth analysis of algorithms should you choose that path...)

* Bone up on Python, Java and C if you're not already proficient. Some classes occasionally use R as well (mostly data science).

* Be comfortable with Git. It's used by almost every class for group work and distribution for codebases. I always see a lot of folks battle with this every semester.

------
mathattack
Only a few data points as an outside observer, but...

1 - The people I've seen doing it are learning A LOT - more than another
online program I've seen.

2 - They're also working A LOT - it intrudes on all aspects of their personal
life. It's as much or more work than doing an in person CS degree.

3 - The folks I know don't have CS undergrads, which also makes it more
difficult.

Net - it can be worth it if you missed CS as an undergrad, but you'll have to
work. You need to ask if there are enough people in Brazil who value the
credential (or implied skills) to make it worth the time. The time investment
is more expensive than the $s. (It will be thousands of hours)

~~~
Buttons840
They're getting a Master's degree without having "CS undergrads"? What does
that mean?

~~~
rripken
I was in an informal study group for Knowledge Based AI and one of the
brightest students was a journalist. She had no undergrad CS background. She
obviously had a hard time on the programming assignments but she started
early, asked TA's for help, developed a clear plan. Her agents performed very
well. Another student I know is a medical doctor at Kaiser.

~~~
sonabinu
I did not have an undergraduate degree in CS when I did my masters (not this
program), I used her approach as well. I did numerous online classes, did
community college courses etc. and shoulder watched classmates programming and
asked lots of questions. It was not easy, but glad I did it !!!!.

------
rgrieselhuber
As someone who hires machine learning / data science oriented engineers, I've
looked at this curriculum pretty closely and think it looks like a great
program.

------
el_benhameen
I'm self-taught and have a job as a SWE. My BA is in an unrelated field. I'm
considering the OMSCS because it would be the cheapest way to add credentials
to my resume and because I'd rather not go back for a second bachelor's. (I
don't mean to sound cynical--I'm interested in the subject matter, of course,
but you can get all of that without going through a degree program.)
Exchanging $7k for more legitimacy in the eyes of prospective employers is the
main appeal of a formalized program. Does anyone have any experience with or
thoughts on the signaling potential of the degree?

------
rrmm
I have a regular old masters in CS from GT. It's probably worth it from a
career standpoint (if nothing else it signals that you care about self-
improvement and take active steps to doing it). I would expect you'd miss some
of the 'grad school experience' (for better or worse) and networking
opportunities. The actual content itself can probably be gotten for free from
other courses on the web if you take a syllabus from a CS dept to get an
overall program. That path wouldn't have the benefit of access to teachers and
would require a lot of discipline.

I don't know how it would be looked at in Brazil or what the economic
cost/benefit are in terms of your own income. I did know a few folks from the
University of Sao Paulo that did grad and postdoc work while I was at GT
though, so clearly some people are aware of GT in Brazil. That might be
another avenue to get opinions from. I would be interested to hear how the
costs compare to an institution that was local to you.

------
nvarsj
Not to be harsh, but you probably won't get accepted. You'll need to do some
CS nanodegrees first, or something equivalent (a full undergrad CS/maths
degree is obviously ideal). I know people in similar positions, even one with
a physics degree, who could not get in due to lack of academic experience.

Otherwise, I think OMSCS is totally worth it. It is hard though. Really hard.
I have a family, significant engineering experience, and I find the workload
intense. It puts pressure on my family at the same time because I'm not
available as much. So I'm taking it very slow, no more than 2-3 courses a
year.

It feels great to be 'back at school' after so many years. I love learning new
stuff and the challenges of hacking away at low level things. The kind of
thing you rarely get to do professionally unless you're very lucky (or not
getting paid much). Almost makes me wish I had done a Ph.D.

I don't know if it will help me get a better job or whatever, but it
definitely fulfills my own internal itch.

------
gatechnoway
Working pro with 12 years experience. Absolutely not worth it. Most of your
classmates will have not coded before.

The classes are cheap. The hours are long. In the end your grade depends on
teammates who haven't been vetted. Three teammates who can't code? You get a C
and don't pass.

Course content is extremely dated. UML and SDLC paradigms from the 70's with
xerox pdfs distributed to "learn" from.

This is a money grab.

~~~
w8rbt
Of the seven classes I have had, only one (software engineering with Professor
Orso) has been a team class. All the other classes were individual work only.
I got an A in the team-based class.

Don't get discouraged and do talk to the professor if you have bad teammates.
All of them have been readily accessible and outstanding (as have the TAs).

------
fokinsean
I've been entertaining the idea of going through this course as well. I
graduated 2 years ago, BS in CS, and part of me misses being in school. Plus
my employer has a decent tuition reimbursement program.

Would anyone who works full time and gone through this program care to share
their thoughts?

Edit: Just found this great article from another comment

[https://schneems.com/2017/07/26/omscs-omg-is-an-online-
maste...](https://schneems.com/2017/07/26/omscs-omg-is-an-online-masters-
right-for-you/)

------
7sevensof7
It really depends on where you are in your career. The GT MSCS is very well
regarded, so it's an excellent credential - but frankly the education is quite
haphazard and I don't see that improving any time in the future. Teaching
quality varies highly, from great to excretable - for many classes, the model
is "a little lecture, then lots of poorly-curated assignments". This consumes
_a lot_ of time, in a very inefficient manner. Yes, you will learn, but mostly
by through your own effort. The very high workload is really not suitable for
a professional MS program, where it has to be managed with a job. I find class
workload expands without bound every semester and even one class will
significantly impact career and relationships. There is no force causing
workload to be decline, so I expect that the program is rapidly going to
become dominated by early-career full-time MS students, in the U.S. and
outside, who live with their parents and knock out an inexpensive, high-
quality MS CS. For those students, it's a great choice. If you don't fit that
profile, it's a poor professional choice. If you have the discipline to teach
yourself via MOOC classes, you will get a better education delivered much more
efficiently - but that doesn't carry the credential. So in short - if you need
the credential and can devote full time, it's an excellent choice. If not, I
do not suggest it.

------
schneems
I wrote about my experiences a few weeks ago:
[https://schneems.com/2017/07/26/omscs-omg-is-an-online-
maste...](https://schneems.com/2017/07/26/omscs-omg-is-an-online-masters-
right-for-you/)

I'm through my second OMSCS semester, and it you want to know if I think it's
worth it...you'll have to read the post ;)

------
daok
I have a question about the requirement to enter the program. It says is
require to have 3 people to write a recommendation letters. I have finish my
bachelor +10 years ago and I am not touch with any professors. Does providing
managers are enough? On the website they put emphasis of not adding friends
which I can understand, but I am curious about the serious about getting these
letters.

~~~
vikascoder
I was on the same boat. My references were my previous three managers.Two of
them were PhDs leading R&D teams and one was a very senior Director. So it
depends on the quality of your recommendors. Anyway the recommendations are
just one part of the application package. Since it is an online MS, there is
an understanding that the applicant profile would lean more towards working
professionals and I am sure they factor that in.

------
mukhmustafa
I joined the program in Fall 2016, and I am half way now. So far, i can say
that the program is very useful for workers who are looking for a part-time
degree, or for people who can't afford the on-campus program. However, the
knowledge you gain and experience you get can't be compared to the on-campus
program.

~~~
alangibson
> the knowledge you gain and experience you get can't be compared to the on-
> campus program.

Can you expand on this? Are you referring to fellowships, internships,
networking, etc?

------
decimalst_us
As a secondary question, for those who did complete the program, what was the
general time commitment per (semester or class) vs. how long you were in the
program? I see that you must take 2 classes in the first year, but didn't see
any other further requirements on speed of completion.

edit: Answered my own question - You can't have two consecutive semesters
"off"[1]. I.e. the slowest possible pace would be 2 classes in the first year,
then 1 class every other semester. So I suppose it would be: spring/summer
'xx: 6 credits, 24 remaining, spring 'xx + 1: 9 credits, fall 'xx +1 : 12
credits etc.

[1] - per
[https://www.reddit.com/r/OMSCS/wiki/index](https://www.reddit.com/r/OMSCS/wiki/index)

~~~
arpieb
As I recall, you have to complete (2) "foundational" courses (there is a list
on the main OMSCS website) within the first 12 months with a grade of B or
better. After that, you need to graduate within 36 months after you started.

~~~
learc83
You definitley don't need to graduate within 36 months after you started.

You have up to 6 years to complete it.

~~~
arpieb
"How long does it take to complete and receive a degree?

We anticipate the typical time for students to complete the OMS CS will be
about three years, though we will allow for longer enrollments—up to six
years—for those students who need greater flexibility."

[http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/prospective-
students/faq](http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/prospective-students/faq)

I had read somewhere (can't find it at the moment, maybe the limit has been
removed?) that you had to wrap it up within three years or apply for an
extension - which is "we will allow" sounds like above.

~~~
learc83
No, no extension needed. It's always been 6 years.

------
josep2
My background: B.A. In Math and Economics. Been working as a software engineer
for 6 years now. I have been in the program for about 1.5 years. I've really
enjoyed it and learned a ton. I've also been able to pay the full cost of
tuition out of pocket. I agree with others in the thread that it depends on
context.

I don't think it will have an immediate impact on my earnings or place in my
company, but I think the long term value of having it far exceeds what I'm
paying for it.

------
omscs_is_great
Using a temp account. I don't think I would have gotten any interviews at the
best of the best tech companies without it (I had an engineering BS in another
field). I was only 8 classes in. So career wise, it's definitely worth it.

The classes take a lot of time (see
[https://omscentral.com](https://omscentral.com)), but the learning has been a
lot of fun. I loved it.

------
nrc2107
It's a joint venture between Udacity and GT. Has received significant awards
since inception - even Obama and Clinton have praised the program as beacons
of where higher education can go...

[https://pe.gatech.edu/blog/oms-cs-wins-top-award-program-
eff...](https://pe.gatech.edu/blog/oms-cs-wins-top-award-program-
effectiveness-for-professionals)

------
damrkul
Lots of people neglect to mention that because of the entire program is 7000.
If you break that down to 2.5 years, it's approx $2800 per year.

If you work for a reputable company, like I do, they do tuition reimbursement.
My company just so happens to cover $5200 per year.

So inother words, I am getting the degree completely for free.

I have completed 7 classes so far, and have 3 left, which again, were all paid
for.

------
eyeball
Anyone have experience with their OMS analytics program? Safe to assume the
quality will be similar to the OMS-CS? It's run through edx instead of
udacity.

[https://pe.gatech.edu/online-masters-degrees/online-
master-s...](https://pe.gatech.edu/online-masters-degrees/online-master-
science-analytics)

------
alwaystruthtell
Current OMSCS and working professional here. The program is ok and it is what
you make of it. The biggest problem actually is that they let in practically
anyone now. I know people who have no business being in the program and have
honestly ruined the experience for me.

~~~
ramsare
Very true. Acceptance rate is well over 50%. Most students in this program are
duds. But best ones are as good as in any top program.

------
j_s
It came up on yesterday's launch of Lambda School (YC S17), but not sure
anyone there can provide any additional info.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15015813](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15015813)

------
frgtpsswrdlame
Don't you need an undergrad degree in computer science to be admitted?

[http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/admission-
criteria](http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/admission-criteria)

~~~
lemonghost
No, they admit people without a BS in CS but I think they want to make sure
you'll be able to succeed in the program. So it helps to have professional
software engineering experience or some other coursework.

~~~
pierrebeaucamp
From: [http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/admission-
criteria](http://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/admission-criteria)

> however, work experience will not take the place of an undergraduate degree.

~~~
tnecniv
I take that to mean that you need to have a bachelors in something. Econ is a
relatively quantitative field, so that with work experience is likely
acceptable.

~~~
learc83
That really depends on the school. There are many schools where you can get an
BA in econ without even taking calculus.

I haven't met anyone in the program with an econ degree. Mostly CS, and
engineering. And a few with physics or math degrees.

------
cweagans
Personally, I'd go for an undergrad CS degree first. uopeople.edu might be a
good place to start. I'm currently working through that program, and I intend
to continue to the GA Tech masters program when I'm done.

------
sannee
It looks like they require a 4-year bachelor's degree. This seems to exclude
european-educated students, as bachelor's are usually only 3-year degrees
here. Has anyone had any experience with this?

~~~
smartician
[http://www.grad.gatech.edu/helpdesk/knowledgebase.php?articl...](http://www.grad.gatech.edu/helpdesk/knowledgebase.php?article=31)

------
throwaway170805
Current OMSCS student here. It's been a challenging, eye-opening experience,
and I'm grateful to be a part of the program.

However, computer science and software development are not the same thing. If
your primary goal is to up your game as a software developer, you might get
more out of well-regarded software development books like "The Pragmatic
Programmer," "Working Effectively with Legacy Code", or "Design Patterns."

Hope this helps.

------
satyargudimetla
Excellent course. Value for money. I am doing this from India. I don't have
words how much thankful I am to the University. CS education made it so
affordable by making it cheaper and online MooC. People like me can benefit a
lot. I feel proud to be part of Georgia Tech. Course is not an easy one. We
need to put full effort. Very practical oriented. I got exposed to many
technologies which is very helpful in today's world. Good luck!

~~~
amaiti504
Hi I am from India as well. Considering whether to apply or not. Please share
your mail ID.

------
maverick2
I am a BA(Business Analyst) with mostly traditional Project Management duties.
My bachelors was in CS, and I still love to delve into technical details of a
solution. I do some data analytics for my product. But have been interested in
more analytics driven roles and eventually find a Product Owner/Manager role.

Does anyone have insight if doing Georgia Tech's - Master of Science in
Analytics will help me land such role?

~~~
alangibson
I've always known Product Owners and Product Managers to basically be people
who got the role because they wanted to be in tech but couldn't/wouldn't write
code. IMHO, those are really non-technical roles for which you are probably
already overqualified. But in the end, it depends on how the company defines
those roles.

------
MechEStudent
I'm a working engineer in Ohio, and I hope to start this fall. My work covers
it, and the content is highly relevant.

Folks say institution-X is the same. I haven't seen one. Princeton or Stanford
are, AFAICT, stunningly more expensive, and not purely remote.

This is a "sine qua non" \- without this particular option, there is nothing
else on the menu for me at this point in my life and career.

------
satyargudimetla
So far I have completed 2 courses. It was really rewarding. I am learning
plethora of technologies and subjects. I am really enjoying .Right now I am
going at 1 course per semester. I started Spring 2017. I will gear up from
next year and go for 2 per semester. Yes , there are limited courses online.
But these would be good enough to start with. Good luck .

------
root_axis
Anyone know of similar programs for undergrad? i.e. an online accredited CS
bachelors from a real university.

~~~
jupiter90000
Oregon State University has an online 2nd bachelor's program if you already
got another undergrad degree. Not sure how 'good' the program is or anything
though, and it doesn't look nearly as inexpensive as the GA tech program if
I'm not mistaken: [http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-
degrees/undergraduate/...](http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/online-
degrees/undergraduate/computer-science/)

~~~
gitgreen
There is an active and well moderated subreddit for anybody interested in this
degree, /r/osuonlinecs. Several current and former students have been talking
about the GaTech program so I linked this discussion in our slack channel.

The degree is good in the sense that every alumnus I've talked to has found
employment as a full time dev. It also does a good job of quickly washing out
those who are trying it on and aren't ready and/or interested.

------
ncfausti
Glad this was posted. I was admitted to Penn's MSE in CIS as well as OMSCS for
the Fall. No funding for either. Penn is roughly $60k. I currently live in
Philly. I'm curious to see what HN thinks would be the better option.

------
serg_chernata
I applied and got rejected due to not having my BS from a regionally
accredited school, though it's nationally accredited. Very confused because
their page implies students from all over the world attend. Bummer.

------
aschampion
You may want to look at a previous recent discussion here on HN:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13382263](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13382263)

------
abhishekash
I am also interested to course but 7k USD is still high to be paid as lumpsum
upfront. Is someone aware if that would be a staggered payment schedule so
that I can pay from my savings as I accrue them.

Thanks

~~~
mbil
You pay at the beginning of each semester for the classes you'll take during
that semester. It's not a lump sum.

~~~
abhishekash
So as a rough estimate if there would be 4 semesters , I would be spending
roghly 1750 USD per semester . I know there would be some deviation. But is
that a fair guess and financial planning ?

~~~
mbil
Here's the cost breakdown per course and semester:
[https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/cost-payment-
sched...](https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/program-info/cost-payment-schedule)

------
jondubois
After a bachelor degree, university isn't that useful for CS unless you want
to get into serious AI research. I don't think it has much effect on salary or
opportunities.

~~~
nvarsj
The knowledge I've learned in my brief time there has already resulted in some
direct monetary benefits for me. So maybe you're right for newbies, but as an
experienced engineer that can find many opportunities, knowledge is power :).

------
cdnsteve
Their SSL is currently broken and displaying warnings...
[https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/](https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/)

~~~
bcook
Working fine here on Android Chrome 59.0.3071.125.

------
soneca
Just to let here my thanks for all thoughtful answers! (as I can't edit my
question anymore). Lots of good insights and useful links in this thread.

------
bitL
How is the difficulty of courses when comparing to edX's MIT's Underactuated
Robotics or Stanford's Roughgarden's Algorithms?

------
nheskia
just wondering, is the admission process similar to other graduate programs?
do you need GRE scores? letters of recommendation? what has been people's
experiences around these requirements?

~~~
stagger87
[https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/explore/faq/admissions](https://www.omscs.gatech.edu/explore/faq/admissions)

------
artmageddon
It better be, my first class for the fall semester starts in a week!

------
jinonoel
Are there any equivalent online PhD programs that are any good?

~~~
pc86
Does the research and collaboration intensive nature of a doctorate really
lend itself to online/distance education?

~~~
isbellHFh
Unclear, but you might find it interesting to look up the actual residency
requirements of various PhD programs you respect.

------
0xa
I'm speaking from my past experience as a hiring manager at a start up with
outlier standards for performance and trajectory in software engineering and
machine learning. I estimate I've screened tens of thousands of resumes and
interviewed at least a thousand people in my career.

First and most important: your internships and work experience, and what you
accomplished during those jobs. They should tell a story of increasing and
accelerating personal growth, learning, challenge and passion. If you can
share personal or class projects, even better.

After your experiences, your degrees will be considered based on the number of
years each typically requires, with early graduation and multiple majors being
notable.

    
    
          1. PhD, if you have one. A STEM PhD was particularly helpful for ML/Data 
          science positions, but not required.
        
          2. BS/BA (3-4 year degree)
        
          3. MS/MEng (1-2 year degree)
    
    

Put another way, if you don't have a PhD, the MS/MEng program is a tiebreaker
compared to your experience and undergrad credentials.

International students get a raw deal. The online masters will barely help you
get a job or launch a career in the US. US universities appear to offer the
chance to work for major US companies with a notable university (such as
Georgia Tech) on your resume, only to feed their graduates into our broken
immigration and work authorization system, H1-B indentured servitude and no
replies from the countless companies that have an unspoken higher bar for
those needing sponsorship.

To round out a few other contexts HN readers might experience:

If you are an international considering an on-campus MS/MEng, US universities
are charging full price while giving you a credential of limited value and
utility. Apply the same comments above but at a much higher price than GA
Tech’s OMSCS.

If you are completing/just completed a less notable undergrad degree, paying
for a masters program at an elite CS school (like GA Tech) is usually a bad
deal. If it not a requirement for the positions you seek, it won't help your
career chances much.

If you have an undergrad degree and your employer will pay/cover your MS/MEng
at night/personal time (and that is your passion), awesome and go for it! It
will be a lot of work and lost sleep to get everything out of the experience,
but a lifelong investment in your growth and experience.

If you are completing/just completed a notable undergrad degree (tier-1,
internationally recognized program), you don't need the masters. Feel free to
get one for your learning, sense of self and building research connections
while you ponder getting a PhD. The hiring and salary benefit will be very
small--you are already the candidate every company wants to meet. If you
decide to get a PhD, that will open some new doors but take 5+ years to get
there.

At my previous company, we made it our forte and team passion to get
authorization for employees--given a global pool of candidates and a hiring
bar to match. I'm really proud of our effort here given the broken and unfair
system. Sadly, many companies do not share this value or cannot justify the
time, effort and expense, or cannot scale such a program to a larger number of
employees across a less selective bar.

------
davidreiss
> I believe this program is a good complementary source of knowledge to become
> a better software developer.

That's something you could learn on your own. But your knowledge of
"technologies" are more valuable to employers than CS degree - especially if
you have work experience.

The tech industry isn't like academia ( economics ) where you have to build up
credentials. Work on projects that deal with web technologies or even better
learn the back end ( databases ) or even the middle tier/server code if you
are a front-end developer.

Becoming a full-stack ( front-end, middle-tier and especially back-end ) is
going to be far more important to employers than if you know what
undecidability is or computational theory.

Degrees are very important if you want to break into the industry ( especially
top tier corporations ). But if you are already work in the industry,
employers want to see the technologies you are competent in.

If your employer is willing to pay for it and you have free time, then go for
it. Learning is always a good thing. But if you want to further your career,
go learn SQL ( any flavor ) and RDBMs technologies - SQL Server, Postgres, etc
( any you want but I recommend SQL Server Developer Edition if you are
beginner on Windows OS as it is very beginner friendly from installation to
client tools ).

A full-stack web developer is rare and you could even sell yourself as an
architect/management. That's a difference from being a $60K web developer and
a $200K full stack developer/architect.

~~~
soneca
Thanks! After reading all comments I more inclined to follow your advice and
invest my time in first becoming a full stack developer/architect.

The consensus is that it is very time-consuming. As a junior web developer I
would have a lot of catch-up to do in Programming (some comments mention the
need of intermediate level at C, Java, and Python, I have none of neither). As
an Economics graduate, I have a fairly shallow knowledge of Math, some catch-
up would be needed in Calculus and Linear Algebra also. This would make the
program even more time-consuming for me (and I need to stay my full-time job).

I will focus this ernergy on becoming a better software developer and think
again about this program in a couple of years.

~~~
cjalmeida
I've a quite similar background. Brazil, mid 30s, major in Business (FGV),
transitioned into dev in 2015, though I had earlier experience. Two failed
companies as well :)

I agree becoming a decent full stack developer is better than doing an MS were
the focus is fundamentals. However, those matter. Things like concurrency,
data modeling, relational algebra, strong OOP fundamentals are used daily in
any non-trivial backend work. OTOH, engineering stuff like auth, version
control, testing, data cleaning and migration seems not part of the course and
are quite relevant.

My personal recommendation is to learn multiple languages. You'll learn the
concepts and abstract away the implementation. C++, Java, Python and R are
different enough and very useful when looking for jobs.

I also recommend doing puzzles to learn algorithms and data structures. Not
because you'll see a lot of them in your day to day, but a lot of places use
them to weed out job applicants.

Which brings us to the most important advice of all: focus on remote work for
US customers. Really. You can easily make $30/h, that translates to around 16k
BRL as a "PJ". After a few years, $50/h, $70/h and even more is not unusual.
That's upper mgmt level money down here with a fraction of the burden.

You can ping me at cjalmeida at gmail.com if you want to talk more.

------
gaius
UIUC have one too [http://engineering.illinois.edu/online/masters-
degrees/mcs.h...](http://engineering.illinois.edu/online/masters-
degrees/mcs.html)

~~~
electriclove
That one appears to cost at least $30k (and about $20k if you do the Data
Science track): [http://engineering.illinois.edu/online/tuition-and-
fees/](http://engineering.illinois.edu/online/tuition-and-fees/)

------
user5994461
Online courses are worth nothing.

Employers will ignore you the second they find out your master is not legit.

~~~
EricThompson
My undergrad degree is from a top 5 CS school. I'm 90% through OMSCS. I
guarantee you it is legit.

I can't promise that all employers will see it that way. The ones that don't
will lose out.

