<p>Hi guys, I am just wondering is it worth to spend around 70k and 2 years on a M.S in CS, i have done some research and realized that the gap between the starting salaries of people with B.S. and the ones of people with M.S. has been decreasing in recent year.
stanford 2007-2008
Computer Science 2007-2008
B.S. 82,000 70,000-96,000
M.S. 88,667 60,000-110,000
2006-2007
Computer Science
B.S. 75,708 45,000-86,500
M.S. 83,536 70,000-95,000</p>
<p>The thing about grad schools is that you'll hopefully get some financial aid...</p>
<p>do they give out grants and workstudy programs like undergrad?</p>
<p>I depends.
IDK about CompSci.
In Physics or such, The University pay you tution,gives you housing and gives you a stipend of around $20k-$30k.</p>
<p>are you talking about the phd program or the master program?</p>
<p>MS programs don't tend to give you any money unless you're a TA or an RA.</p>
<p>The largest cost of going to grad school is not the 70K the school costs, but the lost opportunity of working during those years (at 70K a year or more.) At 6K/yr additional salary it would take you 35 years to make back the 210K that your MS will cost you (ignoring compound interest on your student loans), so from a purely financial point of view it may not be such a good idea.</p>
<p>On the other hand, an MS will allow you to work on more interesting problems right out of school. The question should be really what kind of work you want to do and what level of education you need to get that work.</p>
<p>It's important to check with the grad school in question to see what types of funding are available. TAships and RAships tend to be reserved for PhD students. In fact, there are people who are not necessarily interested in having PhD's, but want funding, so they will enter PhD programs in order to get funding. You may have more luck finding financial support from some type of corporate-sponsored grant program.</p>
<p>As to whether one is better off with or without an MSCS, there are different schools of thought on the issue. Some feel the MSCS is not particularly necessary. Some feel the degree is not necessary, but it could be helpful in terms of making contacts with other individuals who might be interested in starting companies. (Granted, this may be just an SF bay area phenomenon.) In a larger, more traditionally-structured company, an MSCS might be more helpful to people interested in (technical) management.</p>
<p>Paul</a> Graham writes often on these topics.</p>
<p>thanks a lot guys, I am mainly focused in OS, SW engineering and network security. so do u think in terms of my focused areas, MS would be benefitial in long run? do companies prohibit you from getting certain senior positions because of the BS degree?</p>
<p>How about getting your employer to pay for it?
What are the pros/cons of this (other than that you have to find an employer that will be willing to do this)?</p>
<p>
[quote]
How about getting your employer to pay for it?
What are the pros/cons of this (other than that you have to find an employer that will be willing to do this)?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The most common 'con' is that your employer will generally require that you sign a contract barring you from jumping to another employer (or else pay back your entire subsidy, which you almost certainly won't be able to afford). The problem obviously is that such a contract obviates much of the reason for obtaining the MS in the first place. After all, why bother putting in the work to obtaining another degree if you can't leverage it to get a better job anyway? {To be fair, there are reasons of personal satisfaction in learning more and knowing more, but clearly one of the most important reasons for obtaining another degree is to be able to use it to get a better job.} Similarly, certain employer may simply refuse to give you a better job - or heck, may even stick you with a worse job - because they know that your contract bars you from going elsewhere.</p>
<p>Now obviously if you find an employer who will (stupidly) not force you to sign a contract, then that's just peachy. Heck, I know of one company that shall remain unnamed (but we surely all know it) that will not only pay for people to get their full-time MBA's, but will also pay them their full salaries, and also give them a juicy living stipend while doing it, all with no contract whatsoever. So not only are you not paying for your MBA, you are actually getting paid to get your MBA, and once you graduate, you are free to jump to Ibanking, consulting, private equity, hedge funds, or whatever without paying such much as a nickel back to the company. Now obviously it is considered highly unethical for somebody to actually take advantage of the company in this way, but on the other hand, there is nothing legally stopping you from doing so. {Personally, I think the company is just being dumb in offering such a ridiculous offer: a far more sensible plan would be for the company to not pay for the MBA at all, and especially not to pay your salary while you're in school, but to offer a generous reimbursement package if you choose to come back to work for them. That would serve to discourage those people who are just looking for the company to give them a free ride.}</p>
<p>
[quote]
The most common 'con' is that your employer will generally require that you sign a contract barring you from jumping to another employer (or else pay back your entire subsidy, which you almost certainly won't be able to afford).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>For programs where the company pays you to be a full-time student, this is true. However, this isn't usually the case with a company that will simply provide tuition reimbursement while you work for them full-time.</p>
<p>Your best option is to see if your employer will pay for your graduate education. Let's compare 2 scenarios:</p>
<p>(1) Out of undergrad, you go directly into grad and graduate in 2 years. Then you enter industry with your new MS in CSE.</p>
<p>Upon Graduation:
Degree: Masters
Full-time experience: Most likely very little to none
Debt: Good amount</p>
<p>(2) You graduate with your undergrad after doing some internships and get set up with full-time job. You work a little to obtain some industry experience and your employer offers to pay for your graduate degree. You become a part-time graduate student while working and get your Masters in 2-3 years.</p>
<p>Upon Graduation:
Degree: Masters
Full-time experience: 2-3 years at the least depending on how long you worked before starting graduate school.
Debt: None, and you got paid for your long-term job at a relatively high salary.</p>
<p>In addition to the benefits of option (2), only once you really work in industry will you find out where your true interest lie. If you go from undergrad to grad, you won't really know what industry-reality really entails. Work in industry, get your employer to cover your educational costs, and you'll know exactly what track/courses to focus on in graduate school to make your MS meaningful.</p>
<p>MS is worth it, because there's a much higher job security. when the unemployement situation is bad, companies keep the MS, and fire the people with a BS.</p>