Hi Everyone
I have acceptances from both USC and Brown university. I am more interested towards courses in Machine Learning (Data Science). I have a data science specialization option at USC but after the new changes in course structure, the specialization has become meaningless and I would be opting for general CS only.
I have heard that it is difficult to get internships / jobs from Brown since undergraduate students dominate the on-campus jobs. Also, is it true that the ML dept at USC is better that Brown?
Brown open curriculum is a great advantage which I am not getting at USC but i would prefer a job towards west coast and I am less interested towards working in a financial firms in east coast. There is no difference in cost b/w the both. Please help me in deciding which should I pick.
Thanks
Ishan
I’d say go with the program you’re more comfortable with, and not worry so much about geographic preference. A Masters in CS from Brown will make you very employable anywhere, including the west coast. The only issue would be the logistics of looking for a west coast job while on the east coast. Hopefully you’d get recruiters at Brown, otherwise you might have to move out west to look for work.
Right now data science is very hot here in the SF/Silicon Valley area, but I’m getting the impression it’s in the “fad” phase where everyone and their dog has a data science start-up, and in two or three years there will be the usual wash-out where lots of these companies go out of business.
CS at USC is top notch, and the graduate data science program at USC doesn’t look bad. Why do you say it’s become meaningless?
Hi simba9
I am saying that data science program at USC has become meaningless because of the restrictions they have imposed on the course structure. For eg - If i like to take search engines and data retrieval, I need to do web technologies course which is a pre-requisite for it. Due to this I would be forced to take courses which I dont even intend to take.
Secondly,just to confirm when we are applying for job offcampus, does companies dont provide for the logistics? In case not should it not be same for Columbia or any east coast universities?
You might find more opinions in the graduate student forum instead of this undergraduate forum,