<p>I have a BS.EE </p>
<p>I have the opportunity to either take a part time program in the city I live ( UT Austin ) for a MSE SWE, or go online and take MSEE courses at Columbia.</p>
<p>What kind of jobs would a MSE SWE get me? Are they even useful? What are employeers thoughts on a pure technical Masters EE or CS degree vs the soft skills taught in an SWE degree?</p>
<p>An MS in software engineering would probably open the door for more pure software jobs. Whether or not it’s useful really depends on if you want to do pure software stuff.</p>
<p>Edit: My general impression is that CS would be more highly regarded than Software Engineering, as far as degree programs go.</p>
<p>Given that your BS is in EE, getting an MS in CS would be better. If you’re BS was in CS, than I would say get an MS in Software Engineering, as a MS CS wouldn’t add much value at that point.</p>
<p>Software engineering is a methodology that can be learned either on the job, through PROFESSIONAL training or even on your own. I was always against MS SoftE programs because I thought it was a waste of time and money to devote a whole course for each phase of the software engineering lifecycle. Since every employer has their own “flavor” of software engineering, all one needs is ONE overall/survey software engineering course. You don’t need 15-week semester courses in:</p>
<p>Requirements Analysis
Software Design
Software Development/Construction
Testing, Verification & Validation
Deployment
Sustainment</p>
<p>Hell, for some large software projects, you won’t need 15 weeks just for Requirements Analysis.</p>