<p>Hello, I was accepted to Brown’s Class of 2017, and I’m thinking about majoring computer science during my undergraduate years. My ultimate goal is to work as a software engineer or computer programmer in the industry field(I don’t think I’m gonna remain in the universities or academia for my future career; I wanna find a job)
My initial plan was to pursue Brown’s computer science degree and spend summers taking internship opportunities, and then work in the industry field right after graduation. But some of my friends say that if I want higher career paths and more job options in the future, it is recommended to pursue Masters degree in the computer science, and thus, have undergraduate research experiences for the grad school admission rather than pursue summer internship opportunities in the companies.</p>
<p>What do you think is the better option for my future careers? Does Masters degree in the Computer Science certainly help finding jobs in this field? (Even without having internship experiences during the undergraduate years?) Or can I go back to the graduate school after working few years in the industry field without undergraduate research experiences?</p>
<p>In CS, a lot of jobs (summer, externships etc) are essentially research. Research /R and D does not have to mean no profit/ultimate market, esp in CS. I wouldn’t really worry too much about either of these paths right now. Just take your starting CS courses, and the highest math courses you feel comfortable taking, and see where you’re headed after you have some time etc at school. Chances are you will be doing some very high paid summer work that will get you headed successfully in either direction.</p>
<p>You can do either or both. A PhD program will require research, but Master’s don’t necessarily or even usually to my knowledge. Also, Brown has a 5 year program where you can do your Master’s in just one additional year. I think that’s a smart thing and while that year is expensive, it isn’t 2 years, at least. My daughter only did research, but much of it would have been just as valuable experience for employers as internship. One was an ecash project that involved network engineers as well as CS theorists and cryptographers solving a real world problem. My daughter was significantly involved in building a cryptographic library, then creating a new software language to make it run faster, as well as working on algorithms to make it run faster. Great experience that came with a $3,000 grant for the summer, but you’d likely be earning way more for the summer if you took an internship.</p>