<p>Would it make any difference if I got a BS degree instead of Masters in computer science? I plan to become a software engineer at a big company (Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, etc.) with good pay (over 100k). I think I can get into a good computer science program at a prestigious university. Would a Master's Degree help me more than a BS? Should I consider a PHD?</p>
<p>Also I heard of masters of engineering from MIT… what is this and will it help?</p>
<p>So as I hear it, most big companies like that have such good selection to choose from they are able to get software engineers with Ph.Ds. I think someone could do it with a Masters, but a Ph.D would help. A bachelor’s probably wouldn’t suffice unless you were amazing.</p>
<p>The level of tasks that you’re expected to handle grows the higher the degree level. PhD in CS is a very powerful degree in the sense that the most interesting and novel areas in CS actually do require very extensive study with a lot of computing and a lot of math/stats + perhaps physics behind (which one would acquire during the BS and the MS).</p>
<p>Now if you talk about computer programming in general, then that really varies. There are jobs as well as tasks that are not necessarily that difficult nowadays (because the tools are so good), very time consuming though, if you know the programming language used, the libraries used, have a general understanding of algorithms and have done some previous projects in the specific application domain.</p>
<p>There are jobs for BS degree holders as well as those that don’t have degrees, but have programmed all their free time. The more advanced the position, the more advanced, mostly mathematical knowledge (and thus likely a degree as well) is required.</p>
<p>I generally don’t think going for a Masters right after getting a Bachelors, in order to increase job prospects, is worth the extra cost and time. Unless you learn some things in your Masters program that are directly applicable to a new job, most employers are going to value real experience over anything else.</p>
<p>The only reason to get a PhD in CS is if you want to remain in academia, or you have a passion about a particular area of CS research. In my 30+ years of working in software, I’ve seen very few resumes with a PhD in CS, and of those, the areas of research were so arcane that they had no applicability to available jobs.</p>
<p>Companies hire a lot of bachelor’s degree CS graduates.</p>
<p>PhD study is for those who want to do cutting edge research.</p>
<p>No, it doesn’t. I work for MS, and I have a degree from SUNY Bing. My boss has a degree from FloridaTech. One coworker has a degree from UMass. Go to your best state school; don’t go into debt; and don’t believe the hype that Ivies try to imbue in you.</p>
<p>You’d probably break even or come out a bit ahead with a Master’s; a PhD is probably a losing proposition for most professional software developers, however. I got a MS immediately after graduating and don’t regret the decision (of course, I might have done even better had I taken my best job offer at graduation; but I doubt it).</p>
<p>Only do graduate school if you have a reasonably clear idea of what you’ll be studying and researching. Avoid the temptation to go just because you think it’d be cool to have another line or two on your r</p>
<p>I recently had the same question, and I called the companies directly to get some answers. Here is what I found…</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Most of your small computer science businesses could give less of a damn what your degree is in, as long as it is in a computer related field. A lot of places will hire people with electrical engineering, information science, information systems, and information technology degrees and won’t think twice about it. Many of these companies won’t even care if you have a degree at all. However, I’ve found that many of these companies want to see experience in the field more than anything and want to see projects that you’ve worked on as evidence that you can actually do the job. Also, I’ve noticed that a lot of these companies will literally give you tests before they hire you on the software to make sure that you know how to use it and how to correctly code. If you pass the tests, then they will hire you. </p></li>
<li><p>Medium sized software engineering companies will generally want you to specifically have a B.S. in computer science in order to get the job. However, if you have a bunch of experience in the field, they often will hire someone with an E.E., I.T. or I.S. degree as well. However, they generally don’t like to hire people without a degree. </p></li>
<li><p>The big computer companies like Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc., will generally be the hardest to get a job in. These companies require a lot of experience to get hired in and B.S. degrees in computer science or electrical engineering. Bare in mind, sometimes they will let people with other degrees in their company, but they want someone with a degree without a doubt. These companies generally want someone with a master’s degree as well, but you might be able to get in if you have a bachelor’s and a lot of experience.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>And to piggyback on the “small, medium and big” companies statement, the salary paid does not have to conform to the size of the company.</p>
<p>^ that’s really true? I always thought massive companies paid more than medium-sized companies, but what do I know, I’m a student.</p>
<p>HyperionOmega it’s often the opposite, unexpectedly. Many large companies will pay less because of corporate inertia and cost cutting in established companies, while many small and medium sized companies aren’t afraid to pay more for talent. Not to mention, large companies being wrapped in layers of bureaucracy that make the job more difficult than it needs to be simply to make middle managers justify their salaries.</p>
<p>That said, large companies may have more job security and better benefits.</p>
<p>I have friends who work(ed) for some of the big names; my wife works in a big name. Apparently some of the reward is that one actually works there, salary be darned. I know people who retired from Microsoft at 42, cashed out, sayonara, but that was stock options. </p>
<p>This has been going on for decades. Starting salary difference between Intel Santa Clara or Microsoft or what not and us in Boonedoggle, NE was negligible back then. It is bigger now, but nowhere near what the cost of living difference is.</p>
<p>But, for the most part, the rewards are the perks, and the reputation. The majority of the scores of those people don’t work on the new Excel or Gmail or what not, they do all the mundane tasks that make those products good (read, testing, lots of it).</p>
<p>Also, I checked Google’s student page and discovered that they have software engineering research position for graduates with a phd.</p>
<p>The smallest companies may have worse benefits than large companies, due to not being able to get the best deals from benefit companies, or not having fully developed HR departments to handle benefits well.</p>