<p>I know my situation is embarrassing, you don't need to tell me that, so please don't reply just to make fun of me. I'm putting aside for now the question of whether or not I should go, I just want to know whether I have a realistic chance or not.</p>
<p>I have a Bachelor's degree in computer science, and I meet the minimum GPA for Master's programs (I'm only going to apply for a Master's not a PhD), so on paper I should be qualified to apply for any program. I'm in Canada and I'm only considering Canadian schools for now, but you can chime in if you're only familiar with US or other schools. </p>
<p>The problem is, I have been out of university for almost 4 years and unemployed for almost all of the last 3 years, with no relevant work experience. I have had relevant work experience during university and briefly after. I have not done any research as an undergrad. I'm assuming I can find people to write letters of recommendation, but I'm not certain right now. I believe I'll have to give up on applying if I can't find enough references. I may have to use 1 professional reference instead of academic if they require 3 references.</p>
<p>Do I have a realistic chance of getting in somewhere, and if so what are some schools that I could apply for? Obviously I'm not going to apply for MIT, but are there schools that I may have a chance at but still have at least decent programs? Preferably Canadian and especially near Ontario, but you can mention schools from anywhere. If there are schools that I should not apply for because I have zero chance let me know that too.</p>
<p>Also, what else can I possibly go for in terms of advanced education besides a Master's in CS? Just brainstorming. Keep in mind I'm ineligible for anything that requires years of post-graduate work experience.</p>
<p>For the time you have been unemployed, have you worked on any personal projects you could showcase or use to show passion for CS? </p>
<p>Also, I don’t know of any schools in Canada but I think you should just apply to places you want to go and see what happens. Just be prepared to prove you want the masters because you enjoy CS.</p>
<p>You and I both graduated at exactly the wrong time to get a job. I was unemployed for a full year before I got a crappy job taking photos of tourists. It was only thanks to ARRP money that I finally got my first lab interview after literally 1000+ applications, got the job and was able to quickly build my resume and bank savings, ultimately leading me to getting into my top choice grad school. This series of events wasn’t due to my own skill, it was the pure chance of having the government infuse money into the system and the right supervisor notice my CV. I think a lot of universities recognize that this sort of stuff is really, really not our fault and we are just a tremendously unlucky bunch of grads (go class of '08!..).</p>
<p>That said, they will not excuse you if you’ve just been sitting on your couch every day for the past 3 years. I got to travel for quite awhile, but then I started heavily volunteering at a local science center. Have you been volunteering? Doing some freelance work? Making your own programs/websites for fun and to keep up with the field? If you’ve been putting in that effort, they are unlikely to penalize you for not having steady work during the worst recession of our time. I wrote a quick explanation for the time not accounted for on my CV (I phrased it as a positive “once in a lifetime” kind of opportunity to travel, which it was) and no one questioned me about it in any interview. It just wasn’t a big deal to them compared to what I DID do with my time. Just focus on your output and a lot of people will be willing to give you a shot.</p>