Computer Science/Engineering in "5 Graduate Programs that Aren't Worth the Money"

Graduate School
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<p>5</a> Graduate Programs That Aren't Worth the Money - Yahoo! Finance</p>

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Computer engineering is a booming industry for job growth. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the market for software developers will grow by 30 percent between 2010 and 2020. Computer programmer jobs are growing at a 12 percent pace, which is about average. However, in most cases, there is little benefit for job seekers who go beyond a bachelor's degree in the field.
The Georgetown study saw just a 16 percent boost in pay for students with graduate degrees in computer engineering.</p>

<p>Paul Silvio, senior vice president at Modis, a large information technology recruiting firm, confirms that his client base doesn't place a high priority on graduate education. "The vast majority of jobs in IT are hands-on, where employees are utilizing a specific technology or skill set," he says. "Candidates grow their expertise by growing their skill sets and interpersonal skills," he says, rather than pursuing further academic qualifications.

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<p>Most of my peers and I have come to the consensus that there is little value in a terminal MS Computer Science/Engineering degree. BS Computer Science already served its purpose by providing us with a foundation. Everything else that we need to excel in our careers has mostly been learned "on the job". The graduate degree that most would like to pursue is an MBA.</p>

<p>Now that leads me to my next question: is there a void in graduate admissions for those interested in a terminal master's? Most state school programs that I see explicitly state that they require a 3.0 GPA for a MS Computer Science program. The average CS major GPA has been around 2.50-2.75 based on what I have observed. Based on the current market demand for CS undergrads, I have seen very few unemployed students from the program. It feels that there is a void (lack of interest) for a MS Computer Science. Those that are eligible or otherwise qualified don't want to give up the opportunity cost of employment or may only be interested in a PhD program.</p>

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<p>Ths short answer is: IT isn’t CS and especially not computer engineering. For software development they always need the low level programmers, which doesn’t really require academic training that a CS degree would provide. That’s more suitable for software engineering.</p>

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<p>Not all engineers are created equal. Many software engineering jobs on this site prefer or require a master degree. Some require a PhD.</p>

<p><a href=“https://jobs.qualcomm.com/public/jobSearch.xhtml?selUSLocations=49&selJobAreas=5[/url]”>https://jobs.qualcomm.com/public/jobSearch.xhtml?selUSLocations=49&selJobAreas=5&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>My daughter is interning at Google and she tells me that 1/3rd have PhD’s and 1/3rd have masters. That can’t be for nothing.</p>

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<p>When I was at Community College just about all the teachers in writing and arts stuff were all MFA. I would assume that would be the same most places, so if the study showed how much you make as an artist, as opposed to how much you make as a teacher then I would think it could be flawed.</p>