Microbio/chem grad -> CS career: best method?

College Majors Science Majors
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<p>Definitely a lot of biology/CS majors on here, so I'm hoping to get some input. </p>

<p>Here's my background: I completed Molecular and Cellular Biology Honors (major)/Chemistry (minor) at Univ of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, class of 2011 with a 3.7 gpa. Didn't get med school admission right away, so I did a one year medical sciences DipHE. Med school still not looking good second time admission cycle; it's just too competitive right now. So I'm considering a switch to comp sci, something I have always considered an equal alternative to medicine. Only question right now is what's the best path moving forward.</p>

<p>I'm just going spill my brain into this post, so bear with me. The way I see it, there's three ways to get into this comp sci given my background:</p>

<p>1) Masters in CS: It's the most logical step considering I already have a BS degree, but would require taking considerable number of cs courses just to be considered for admission. Furthermore, grad admissions are competitive and there's no guarantee at a good univ like UofI.</p>

<p>2) 2nd bachelors in CS: Good idea considering all the prereqs for masters admission are the same as those required for cs. Most universities I've spoke with said I could transfer in as a 2nd year student next August without an issue, though they did not recommend this option. However, the opportunities of going to UofI is research work during the semesters and internships during the summer. It's also easier compared to the path for masters and I won't be drifting.</p>

<p>3) Dive straight into the job pool: I would first have to self-learn and maybe even take some online courses to power through the basics. It seems getting up to Data Structures and Algorithms is a must for reasonable cs competency. Then, aim for a part-time job or internship as job experience is the main criteria that will lead to a decent full-time job regardless of what degree I have. However, this is the most uncertain path.</p>

<p>If you are still reading my post, thanks for your time. I'm just burning through all the pros/cons for each of those three options to figure out which one has the highest yield and hoping to share it with others in similar situations. Appreciate any input at all.</p>

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<p>I would have recommended option 2…except I’d like to know one thing. Why were you advised against it?</p>

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<p>How are you able to afford option 2?</p>

<p>When you say you didn’t immediately get med school admission, does that mean you were rejected?
Why can’t you at least attempt med school admissions the second time around?</p>

<p>I think there is something to be said about the significant cost of another two years in college, not to mention the fact that you don’t even know if you would like or do well in CS.</p>

<p>I would consider another option:</p>

<p>There are lot’s of “boot camp” programs out there that teach purely practical programming in a short period of time. For example, there is a program called Dev Bootcamp in San Francisco that charges about $12k and teaches complete beginners to become a web developer in 9 weeks - 40 hours a week. (The total cost is more considering living costs and housing costs, since you’re on your own for that). I’m not affiliated with them, but I work in the Bay Area and have heard of them.</p>

<p>Other similar programs include the Starter League (Chicago), Hungry Academy (this one they actually pay you and guarantee employment, but admissions is very tough), Catalyst (SF), Hackbright Academy (only for women), and App Academy (SF).
Most require tuition and have you cover your own living costs. I think App Academy doesn’t take tuition, but takes a cut of your first year salary if you get a job as a software engineer (they take 12.5%, which is about 10k since a first year software engineer can make about 80k).</p>

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<p>Have you also considered pharm/dental/grad school? Your background should be sufficient.</p>