Grad school decision: MSIM@UW-seattle, Analytics@Gatech, MSIM@UIUC

College Search & Selection
1

I come from a business background and want to transfer into tech, still exploring between SDE, DS, MLE, PM possibilities. Please help me decide between these 1 year grad programs:

UW Master of Science for Information Management - Data Science Track: 30% admit rate
Pros: Seattle is where I want to settle; the school is well funded, and its CS department is highly desired and on the raise; I want to be hired by large tech companies such as Amazon, Microsoft
Cons: MSIM courses are less technical, will require extra self learning and discipline; high CS and world but lower national ranking; MSIM is under iSchool and not Computer Science

Gatech Master of Science for Analytics - Computational Data Track: 16% admit rate
Pros: Top master program for DS; its computational data track is very hard core; the program has a track record for 100% employment after graduation; adds a solid tech foundation to my business background
Cons: MSA coursework are heavily invested in data science (I heard there are fewer DS and MLE opportunities on the market, and I want to have the flexibility to explore SDE or PM possibilities at school); I will probably relocate to Seattle or the Bay Area after graduation

UIUC Master of Science for Information Management - Data Science Track:
Pros: Another great school for CS
Cons: MSIM is under iSchool and not CS; UIUC is under funded; likely relocate to Seattle or the Bay Area; peer pressure from a large pool of CS students

Quick Bio: 32, Canadian, finance BA + MBA

2

What will these places cost you?

Do any of them have stronger connections in Canada in case you don’t land a job in the US?

3

If cost is similar and you want to end up in Seattle, go to UW-Seattle. You can make the degree more technical band challenging big you want, I’m sure.

4

The costs are about the same. The major issue for me is if to self learn and pursue software engineer job after UW, or data scientist job after Gatech. The data science job market seems to be in trouble lately, yet I am not sure a MSIM degree is enough for me to secure a software engineer job.

5

None of them are CS degrees. You’d have to do a lot of development yourself in any case. I’d go to the city I’d want to end up in.