My undergrad was in computer science, although I would say this wasn't the case for most of my classmates. There were a lot of students from other engineering fields (like Mech E or civil), Math, Stats, physics, bio, and business.
I did my undergrad at U. of Michigan, and my master's at NYU. I would highly recommend both programs, although there are many great ones out there. I probably have a list of ~30 schools that I think would be excellent for a master's in CS with a focus on machine learning (although it is worth considering a master's in Data Science, as this makes sense if ML is your primary interest).
I am happy to give more targeted advice on grad school. Please send me an email at andrew [at] mrdrozdov.com.
On a general level, did you or your classmates general fund these masters degrees themselves? And what is the career path / expected compensation after completion of program? Asking as a web dev with only a few years experience but making ok startup-world money. I'm curious, being interested in such a route but also a little older and trying to catch up financially after a pre-tech career.
I believe it is similar compensation as a software engineer with a specialty (front end, data engineering, databases, etc.). I would not recommend this career path to anyone that is in it for the money, but rather to do it because they find machine learning personally fulfilling. These other specialties can be personally fulfilling as well, and many of my close friends have a specialty that is not machine learning and are very happy with their career.
I received a handful of emails specifically asking for the list of schools I was referring to. Here is a list of 31. There are certainly schools that I have missed, but I think that any of these programs offer a strong curriculum and community that would prepare a student for a career working in data science.
Liberal arts troll reporting. Starting my prereqs for a masters in CS this summer. It'll take me quite a bit longer to complete than someone who started with a BS in CS (basically I'm taking enough undergrad courses to fill several semesters, before even getting to MS work). However I was a developer for several years before this leap, and I feel pretty comfy with math things. Also working on reproducing papers to develop chops, in my spare time so my dev skills don't go to nil. Excites me since I've always wanted to grow to this level as a dev, I just never had an excuse to go for the CS degree till ML came along.
Consider a MS in Math (or another BS) vs. CS. The Math will transcend the pace of CS...machine learning today, what will it be tomorrow? Whatever it will be it will need to leverage math (at least initially so that others can stand on their shoulders).
I'd also like to know more about your Masters program. My first degree was in graphic design and I've been working as a developer for a few years. I'm currently taking undergrad courses part time in CS and have been looking through Masters programs. Thanks for sharing and also best of luck!
The response makes it sound like they were accepted to a MS program under the condition they complete undergrad courses. I am curious which MS program this is.
