If I get a bachelors in math-cs, is it possible to also aim for the cs masters?
Of course If i am able to get a direct bachelors from cs i would go straight to the industry, but because of the competitiveness with all the colleges I am also think of math-cs as a second plan. I am also considering this because a recent cs grad from usc told me that a masters in cs would effectively cover what i lost in a math cs degree.
Can i hear your input?
I don’t know what exactly the math-cs program consists of, but I’d guess that’s enough to get you a programming job. There are plenty of programmers who don’t have CS degrees. And you don’t need a masters in CS for employment purposes.
Here I quote a professor from RPI on this very subject.
edited to add a grammatical correction
Yes, you could go directly to a masters degree, though I’m not sure you need it. Taking any sort of extra electives in CS during the BS would probably save you the extra year and get more or less equivalent information. The masters would probably be a bit overkill for catching up. Arguably, there are skills you will have as a math major that will put you ahead of many of your pure CS peers, and learning a subject extra here or there on the job will actually make you the better option for many companies in the end.
I would actually disagree with that RPI professor for your purposes - the higher starting salary of an MS will more or less come out in the wash because of the year you’re in school versus earning a salary in tech. CS employers don’t pay more by education but by your experience and abilities, so the salary boost won’t last long. You’re not in it for graduate education for the sake of CS education, so that reason isn’t very applicable. I would also not that generally, a professor in CS will be biased towards the graduate education track. The professor is right through - you don’t pursue graduate education in CS for the money, and I don’t mean to imply there aren’t great parts of that track. It just doesn’t seem to fit your goals/interests.
Long story short: taking any extra CS electives (if possible) and sticking with the BS should work out just fine. Only do the masters if you want to for the sake of graduate education or for personal interest. Especially if you have to pay for it, then it’s especially not going to be worth it.
I agree with @PengsPhils. You can easily gain employment in the tech sector with a Math degree and CS minor. Moreover, many companies will pay for you to take classes (part-time) toward a CS master if those courses are somewhat job related.
@jrm815 I think that a CS minor is a bit more iffy - the OP is talking about a double major, which is typically much more extensive in CS depth than a minor, but just under the depth of a classic CS major.
A graduate CS program has few requirements for admission…
This is EASILY attainable within the Math degree