I’m an undergrad senior at Emory University who recently decided to pursue computer science. I was pre-med for my first three years and made the change after junior year.
I want to get an MS in machine learning, and I was wondering if I should transfer to a better college for CS such as Georgia Tech and essentially restart undergrad or just stay at Emory and finish getting a degree with only an extra year (so I would graduate as a 5th-year). Emory’s CS department is all right, but would it be a lot more beneficial to study at a school known for CS?
Also, is it recommended to get an MS immediately after bachelor’s?
Typically not. Most students who do a MS in CS these days are international students who want a degree from a US school on their resume. Nearly everyone that goes into industry does it with a bachelors.
While that is true for software engineering jobs, nearly every machine learning roles require a master degree or above. Unless you consistently win Kaggle competitions, a master degree (PhD preferred) is a must for ML.
Generally I would say it’s not necessary to get a graduate degree right after you get a bachelor’s in CS, but in the case of machine learning, I’d say it’s probably worth it.