r/cscareerquestions • u/CourtofTalons • 1d ago
Experienced Is a Masters degree worth it anymore?
I graduated with a Bachelors degree in Computer Science, and I've been employed for three years. In that time, I've also been trying to get a Masters degree to go with my Bachelors degree. But the more I think about, the more I feel that I have been pressured into doing so by my peers. A friend of mine even said that his Masters wasn't worth it anymore, and my employers seem more concerned with certification exams rather than degrees.
But is that actually the case in other fields? Do people still look at Masters degrees?
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u/SeriousCat5534 1d ago
It many states you can’t be a teacher without a masters degree fyi
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u/OneOldNerd Software Engineer 23h ago
Not sure why you got downvoted for a true statement.
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u/Federal_Employee_659 DevOps Engineer, former AWS SysDE 21h ago
possibly because its actually a relevant comment, but only if you actually read the OP's whole post. If you TL;DR skim it or have typical internet reading comprehension, it seems out of place.
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u/ramzafl SWE @ FAANG 18h ago
i ran back and re-read it several times but i dont see anything in ops post that references working in CS education?
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u/Federal_Employee_659 DevOps Engineer, former AWS SysDE 18h ago
last line... "But is that actually the case in other fields? Do people still look at Masters degrees?"
That's straight-up asking for folks opinions in other fields :)
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u/ramzafl SWE @ FAANG 18h ago
Ah... I guess if you consider teaching programming an entirely different field then doing programming. Good call - my brain didn't register it the same way.
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u/Federal_Employee_659 DevOps Engineer, former AWS SysDE 18h ago
OP didn't even have education in mind, probably. They just asked about other fields and somebody with an education background chimed in (and got downvoted apparently) how it matters to get a teaching job.
Makes sense your way though. I consider teaching comp-sci a different field. I'm at the point in my career where I spend way more time developing junior developers than I do my own code, and its way harder (for me atleast) to teach other people better ways to code than it is for me to bang out my own. I always thought about going back for my PhD after I 'retire' and just teach the next generation (when I was way younger in my career), but now I realize that's not necessary (and I wouldn't want to switch fields and completely give up development anyway).
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u/Beneficial-Wonder576 20h ago
it's so sad they run that grift. I remember a random Master of Arts student teaching the masters degree level networking class and someone with 8 YoE couldn't because no masters.
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u/SeriousCat5534 20h ago
Nah I think it’s a necessary requirement. GRE is already a tall barrier for folks with 8yoe
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u/AndAuri 20h ago
Teachers should be first and foremost passionate about studying and learning new things. If you can't be bothered with pursuing education, you shouldn't be educating anyone yourself.
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u/TheReservedList 19h ago
Learning new things has nothing to do with academia.
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u/AndAuri 19h ago
You can learn all you want, just accept that you cannot teach it, at least not institutionally. If you want to work in academia, follow the path academia has set for you. "Knowing" something does not make you a good teacher.
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u/TheReservedList 18h ago
And getting a M. Sc. or Ph. D makes you a good teacher? 😂
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u/AndAuri 17h ago
It proves you are passionate about learning, which is a necessary condition for being a good teacher.
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u/TheReservedList 17h ago
In most cases, in CS, all it proves is that you were unable to get a job out of college, likely because you didn’t learn much getting your bachelor’s.
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u/benjhg13 1d ago
If it's a reputable school and your company would pay for it at least partially I think it's a good idea. If it's expensive and out of your pocket, then no.
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u/ehennis 10h ago
I did an online masters from Georgia tech. Wells Fargo paid all of it (they cover up to $10k/yr). Was it worth it? Can't really tell if it made any different with recruiters and companies. I did get jobs pretty quickly after but I also have 20+ years of experience. I only did it because nobody I knew had any masters besides an MBA and I thought it was cool.
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u/gms_fan 23h ago
As someone with decades of experience in software engineering....a masters in CS was really never worth it in this field.
The ROI beyond a BS is so sketch that I would never advise someone to do it unless they just wanted it personally and their employer was paying for it.
Now, if you have a CS BS and want to add an MBA or some other adjacent field, there can be a real ROI on that.
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u/Romano16 18h ago
Does getting an MBA Trump other CS Adjacent masters? Examples: MS in IS, Cybersecurity, IT, etc.
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u/gms_fan 16h ago
Knowing those things is great. Really, no masters is going to have a great ROI. And you don't need a masters to get and prove that knowledge.
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u/ramzafl SWE @ FAANG 14h ago
Why do you say no masters is going to have a great ROI? I don't have them infront of me but there have been pretty conclusive studies that show more years of education = higher career earnings over the course of career.
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u/gms_fan 14h ago
Hmmm well my perspective is as a HM at Microsoft, Amazon and other notable companies. But, you know, whatever floats your boat.
There are some roles, particularly in government positions, where it can be a pre-req. And I'd never say "never" but the ROI is very rare.
Also, keep in mind that the people doing the studies are generally the people selling the degrees.
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u/ramzafl SWE @ FAANG 9h ago
Eh, naw this was a bunch of meta-study analysis cited by freakonomics.
And also as a HM it doesn't matter a ton to me personally, but this is about career earnings, not if i say yes or not. After I say yes... me (and also likely you) aren't doing all the comp analysis. I know I haven't as a frontline manager.
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u/gms_fan 8h ago
So that explains why PhDs are so highly paid. 🤣🤣 (of course that's not true) The problem with studies like that is that typically they are confounded by doctors, surgeons and lawyers.
Sideline...as a manager you aren't involved in comp? Deciding raises, stock, etc? That seems very odd. That sounds more like a tech lead than a people manager role.
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u/davy_crockett_slayer 12h ago
For crud apps, sure. All of my buddies that are machine learning engineers, compiler engineers, or work in graphics have masters degrees.
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u/gms_fan 12h ago
That doesn't match my experience on compilers, relational database server products, operating systems or mobile devices. 🤷 I'm sure people have other experiences.
Among all the many skilled and well regarded engineers with whom I've worked, I've known a handful of MS and a single PhD. And all of those got those degrees after they were working and paid for them with employer programs.
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u/fatandconfused9000 23h ago edited 20h ago
Are you someone from a non CS background and want to fill the gaps to work in a more traditional SWE roles, yes.
Are you someone who has a thirst to get more in depth into CS as something you would find fulfilling, yes.
Are you someone from a developing country trying to move to a developed country, yes.
Are you someone with a BS CS that wants to get a MS CS to help progress your careers, no.
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u/No_Try6944 1d ago
It was never worth it. CS master programs are just cash cows for universities trying to sell the immigration dream to foreign students
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u/EnderMB Software Engineer 1d ago
In the US, perhaps.
There are other benefits, other than simply "learning more". It's a surprisingly solid way to restart the clock for student hiring. I do a lot of interviewing, and I see a surprisingly large number of people in the graduate hiring block that have 2-3 years industry experience before starting a masters degree.
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u/bishopExportMine 20h ago
Bachelor's on student visa -> work 2~3 years on OPT -> masters on student visa to reset OPT -> work another 2~3 years
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u/_Serus_ 1d ago
These 2-3 yoe studente are working in the meantime?
I'm a M30 with 5 years of experience and i world like to change development secotor but...these 22yo students with Msc have a lot of advantage
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u/EnderMB Software Engineer 1d ago
Some are, although not always full-time. I've had to flag with recruiting a few times when we've interviewed people with close to 5 years experience, but in those instances they've still failed the interview process.
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u/_Serus_ 23h ago
What do you mean with "flag with recruiting"?
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u/EnderMB Software Engineer 23h ago
Flag that it's disingenuous to hire someone as a graduate when they also meet the eligibility requirements to be a Senior Engineer.
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u/ElectrikDonuts 18h ago
Why do student hirers get priority?
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u/EnderMB Software Engineer 17h ago
The short answer is that there are more graduate roles.
The long answer is that because the big tech job market has been so shit, many places are top-heavy, with a backlog for promotions. The last grads that entered are now mid-level and looking at the backlog. That's why almost every interview I do lately is for L4 roles.
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u/Great_Northern_Beans 22h ago
This is maybe true if you're going to do a job that doesn't require much theoretical knowledge like web dev or something. But if you're going to work in the ML/data science space, a masters is table stakes. Roughly half of the applicants even have a PhD. You'll assuredly get filtered out without an advanced degree or at least 10 YoE.
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u/Any-Property2397 20h ago
so im interested in doing ai for robotics. would you say doing a masters would ne a good choice for me?
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u/Great_Northern_Beans 19h ago
Unfortunately, robotics is not my field of expertise. I'd be very surprised if you could break into that field with just a bachelors, but that's well outside of my scope of knowledge, so I shouldn't be your resource on the matter.
You may want to pose this question to a group of practitioners like r/MachineLearning. The frequent commenters in that sub are mostly researchers/working professionals, so I'm sure someone who works in that specific subfield can chime in with a more informed opinion.
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u/anemisto 14h ago
This is true, but most people's odds aren't good with a master's. It's not having a master's, it's having a master's from a good school. (Notably, everyone I run into without a master's almost invariably was a math major at a very good school.)
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u/AngeFreshTech 18h ago edited 18h ago
To do stuff like ML, AI, DL, Security, Networking, or Advanced stuffs Distributed Systems, a Master’s degree is totally worth, bc a CS bachelor degree holder lacks coursework and research in these topics…
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u/Subnetwork 1d ago
Yep I went to one at a local state college, professors didn’t even grade the work, most the discussion board posts when you actually read were gibberish.
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u/Full_Bank_6172 22h ago
Not really. I’ve seen it very occasionally listed as a preferred qualification.
Only time could be worth it is if you studied some other non-CS stem discipline in school and lost your job and want to get past the ATS filters blocking you for not having a CS degree.
But then you need academic references and shit for a masters degree so…
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u/goingtocalifornia25 19h ago
It’s a talking point on a resume that sets you apart and sometimes that’s all you need
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u/hamdans1 1d ago
Depends on what you want to do. If you want to be a SWE, then no. You’re much better off spending that time and money building projects and getting applicable practice. There’s an argument for a masters if you want to get into product management and design, but even then I think you’re better off enrolling in more tactical training programs and getting practical experience. If you want to get into senior leadership then I’d say think about an mba, to help get a head start, but even those I think aren’t quite worth the effort and money.
For purely cs unless you intend to go all the way to phd and work on some really cutting edge theoretical work, I can’t imagine an MS is worth it. You’ll always be judged on what you’ve built more than anything else
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u/Any-Property2397 21h ago
what if i wanna do robotics ai?
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u/EruditusCodeMonkey 19h ago
I worked at a robotics company without a masters. There is a really weird bias towards requiring a masters in robotics. They can also be pretty pretentious "I'm a roboticist, not a software developer...". So having a masters can help get past that weird barrier, but other than that much of the ML courses that used to be specific to robotics masters have shifted to undergrad courses, A* and programming a UART could be picked up by any competent SWE.
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u/hamdans1 20h ago
I’ll be honest, I have no idea. Feels like a field you’d need an advanced education for so that might be a fit, but also feels like something that falls into that bucket of wanting a phd if you really want to go far. PhD probably the easiest way to get practical experience in a lab too, but I’m guessing honestly
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u/exciting_kream 15h ago
Definite yes for robotics AI. Not in robotics myself, but I am in AI/ML and it’s basically a requirement in this field. Anyone doing it with a bachelors got very lucky, or got in much earlier (2020-2022 ish)
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u/Feisty-Saturn 23h ago
I got one because my parents pushed me to. They felt that a masters is what really completed my education and not a bachelors. Idk if it’s really helped me as much but they believe it helped me lands a decently high paying job. I was maybe 2.5 years into my career, 24 years old, and the same semester I was graduating from my masters program I applied to a well known company and got a 180k TC.
I took that job but decided to leave it less than a year later and secured another job within 3 weeks. Idk if it was the masters or just the market at the time.
My company paid for half, I paid for the other half. Didn’t get into any debt. Ultimately no regrets, it’s just one extra thing that I can use to market myself.
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u/Nsxd9 22h ago
Was the job you grabbed later similar to the one you had before? I’m looking for an MBA as I want to switch from coding to something else so just curious
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u/Feisty-Saturn 22h ago
Yes. I enjoy the work I do, I don’t really have any desire to switch. I do devops work. My masters is actually in cybersecurity, my bachelors is in CS. But I have not pursued a job in cyber nor do I plan to.
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u/vanisher_1 22h ago
I think it’s not worth it, especially if you lost most of the knowledge in cybersecurity and never applied in the real field to be able to transfer such knowledge in your DevOps role… probably it gives you a little more recognition in terms of title but DevOps can be done with just a bachelor and the rest exp + self taught 🤷♂️
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u/Feisty-Saturn 20h ago
My job for sure can be done without the masters. But like I said I don’t really regret it, especially since I didn’t get any debt from doing it. Its could help me get job interviews whenever I go back on the market or it may not. But I highly doubt it hurts me in anyway.
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u/DualActiveBridgeLLC 23h ago
Got a Master's in EE back in early 2000s when the job market was shit. Learned a lot of cool things but monetarily it was a terrible decision. Effectively it was $50k student loans @ 3.1%, 1.5 years of opportunity cost, for about $4k increase to my salary (2 years of experience would have probably put me $4k higher). The insulting part was the bald face lies the university made about the ROI on the Master's.
The only way I have heard it pays off is if you get you master's for a very specific skill for a company that you know is going to pony up a lot. Essentially you have to have it lined up.
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u/Early-Surround7413 21h ago
Was it ever worth it?
If you want a masters get an MBA. MBA with a CS undergrad is a killer combo.
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u/Romano16 18h ago
Does getting an MBA Trump other CS Adjacent masters? Examples: MS in IS, Cybersecurity, IT, etc.
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u/namastayhom33 17h ago
If you already have a strong technical undergrad (like CS, MIS, or Engineering) and solid work experience, an MBA alone can be enough to make the jump into leadership if that's what you are aiming for.
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u/Super-Blackberry19 Jr+ Dev (3 yoe) 20h ago
My ancedote is it was worth it for me specifically.
I graduated bachelor's and my internship refused to hire me full time, but was willing to keep me as an intern if I went to grad school. I did accelerated grad school and finished it in 1 year.
It was COVID still and I had nothing lined up, so I told myself I'll grind for another year in school / more time to secure an offer.
Grad school was really intense. It was above my power level but putting every ounce of my being into it I got by while still working at my internship (internship was 2nd priority and remote since I knew I had no future there)
I don't know if it was worth all the stress, suffering, and money. But I did it and was out debt free, had a 100k job lined up, and grew a stronger network of classmates. I got paid more than my peers at my first job by ~$6k, but it cost me roughly $17k for a year of grad school.
It's unclear if it's helped me since. I got laid off and quickly jumped to another 105k job - but there was no indication if Master's helped. It seems to help mildly when meeting other people, they seem more impressed than the jobs. I found it mildly helped when I was on dating apps too, helps build a "package" of selling yourself both career and irl.
I got laid off again, and it was 7 months of suffering. I got a lot of interviews though. To the tune of 23 technical interviews (and each one could of had multiple rounds), and countless phone screens and emails/dms. It's possible the ATS gave my 3 Yoe + masters as 4 or 5 yoe and helped me land a lot more interviews.
My current job that I recently got said they valued my job interview performance and my prior security clearance, not necessarily the masters - it was just a nice "perk". Nice perk is not worth the amount of work it took, but I'm forever proud of what I accomplished.
I know of at least one person who got a masters at a brand name school and he got picked out of 600 applications and the masters was a big play.
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u/Reasonable_Bunch_458 1d ago
Not really. Unfortunately non thesis masters degrees are just a way for immigrants to get a job without applying for a work visa. For this reason, my classes were EXTREMELY easy and I learned next to nothing.
I did my MSEE and I was often the only American or one of two in my classes.
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u/stile213 23h ago
It can be a check box for otherwise equal candidates. It won’t matter in the slightest if the other candidate has the experience they are looking for and you don’t.
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u/Neat-Jackfruit-2537 20h ago
I have a masters. Not worth it. Would have rather worked that year and a half. Or just build projects myself
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u/WishfulTraveler 19h ago
Generally, the higher you can go in this field, the better. It also significantly impacts how you’re treated. Do you think a Ph.D. in Physics working as a Data Scientist is treated the same way as a Senior or higher Software Engineer? In my experience, it completely changes social interactions from the first impression and afterward. It immediately gives you respect in your profession, which can get you far, let alone the knowledge you gain during your studies.
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u/okayifimust 1d ago
Is a Masters degree worth it anymore?
Wu.
Impossible to answer, without knowing what basis you have to make that decision.
What are the costs? What would failure mean to you? How likely are you to fail? What outcomes are you hoping for? And how likely, in turn, are those to materialize with or without the degree?
A friend of mine even said that his Masters wasn't worth it anymore,
So why not ask him what that means to him?
and my employers seem more concerned with certification exams rather than degrees.
So... why ask here, instead of discussing it with them?
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u/Unlucky_Topic7963 Director, SWE @ C1 23h ago
Master's in CS? Probably not. I got an MSc in IT because it was less math intensive and afforded me some opportunities. However, I also have an MBA which I think any engineer looking to grow into management/exec should pursue for the competitive edge. Not required by any means and plenty of my peers only have a bachelor's.
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u/security_jedi 23h ago
It's one more thing that can make you stand out from all the people who only have a Bachelors.
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u/GOTrr 23h ago
The bachelors degree person with more experience in the current field and with more impactful initiatives will get that job over the guy with less experience and a masters.
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u/security_jedi 22h ago
Why does the person with the Masters have to have less experience? My point is all else being equal.
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u/GOTrr 18h ago
Good question, yeah some might not need to and can/will juggle family, career and education for it, all at once.
In my circle within the tech world, it’s basically useless unless it from the absolute top 3-5 schools. Not me saying it, a number of executives I worked with have said this. I work for one of the largest firms in the world.
But that’s just my personal opinion from my personal experience.
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u/security_jedi 17h ago
Most graduate students juggle family, career, and education.
The top 3-5 schools curriculum is the same as the top 100 or 200 even. It's not that important unless you want to be a leading researcher in your field.
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u/GOTrr 17h ago
You and I both know the curriculum isn’t what makes Harvard stand out from a public state college….
If you are doing a masters then hopefully you are wanting to reach high levels in your fields at the very least. Or it’s more of a waste of time.
Again, from my personal experience, it’s basically useless at this point and nobody cares for it. We don’t hire execs just because they have a masters degree…
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u/security_jedi 17h ago
Most of the senior management and executives at my company have a Masters or even a PHD. I did my Masters in hopes of possibly reaching these higher levels later in my career.
People that want to be leading experts in their field usually do a PHD from a top school.
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u/security_jedi 17h ago
I think you're confusing a Masters with a PHD.
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u/GOTrr 12h ago
No, I’m talking about a masters.
It hasn’t been valuable for a bit now. Most folks have it and an engineer who worked at FAANG or a top firm will get hired over the person with a masters who worked at a regular company. I know it, because we do it…
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u/security_jedi 12h ago
That hasn't been my experience, but we mostly hire former government workers rather than from FAANG.
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u/GOTrr 12h ago
Okay yeah then that is probably why we have different perspectives. Which is fine but there are even studies showing how many applicants have masters now and usually those folks come with less experience too. So, the more experienced folks are picked over them.
It used to be a big deal decades upon decades ago.
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u/vinegarhorse 22h ago
Well because you're spending 2 years getting the masters when people who are not getting masters are gaining experience. Opportunity cost.
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u/westnotwest 22h ago
I think there’s a huge bucket of masters students who complete the degree while working. Anecdotally I’d say most of them, but I don’t have any stats to support that.
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u/bindastimes 22h ago
Yes for the networking but not actually learning. A lot of people actually give interviews to alumni of the same college.
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u/aniroxta1 22h ago
What is your nationality?
What schools have you targeted for your masters ?
How much do you expect to spend for a degree ?
Apart from academics, do you like socializing / networking (because that's THE most important part of college, and insider in a company that can refer you trumps having good grades / projects / the knowledge gained )
Do YOU like academia ?
Any chance of partial subsidies through work sabbaticals / scholarship tie ups ?
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u/SwampThingTom 22h ago
A master’s degree has never been useful for Computer Science except as a stepping stone to getting a doctorate and going into research or academia.
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u/Any-Property2397 20h ago
what about for ai robotics?
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u/SwampThingTom 20h ago
In my experience, a master’s degree in CS, even for niche fields like that, does not improve your salary. It might help you break into a niche job requiring those skills but it’s just as likely you could do that by proving yourself as a good software engineer at a company looking for those skills. The only other reason to do it, as I said, is as a stepping stone to getting a doctorate. That’s certainly an area with lots of academic and research positions.
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u/Best_Location_8237 20h ago
Dont necessarily agree with this...suppose you are a regular SWE...working primarily with, say, Java for Enterprise software. How would you move into AI? Being a good software engineer (in the context of your current domain) won't help you there. Master's would make it a hell of a lot easier to pivot. Do agree on the salary part though.
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u/ThrowRA_2983839 21h ago
Nope, coming from someone who did a masters I only did it to switch career from commerce to AI, otherwise I wouldn’t bother
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u/tomqmasters 20h ago
Depends. Do you have a job already or not? You can just stop if you get a job too.
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u/rbuen4455 19h ago
imo, after you get the CS fundamentals down during your Bachelors, you should start learn a programming language or two (if you didn't at your university), learn as much and start coding out a project that does a specific task and then document your work.
idk how much a masters is going to help in this saturated market, i mean it's just more money down the drain if you're not getting hands-on experience and building skills. Maybe a masters is worth it if you want to get into some research program like AI research or theoretical computer science, but in real world settings, your skills and how you apply your skills + the experience you gained from using your skills are what ultimately matters.
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u/SweetRefrigerator271 19h ago
Imo it really depends on the field. In tech, most companies I’ve seen value certifications or projects over another degree. I used Zippia (free) to research career paths, Sonara (free) to explore options while applying, and LazyApply (free) to keep things moving, gave me a clearer picture of where a Master’s actually mattered.
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u/Altruistic-Cattle761 19h ago
Absent other context or circumstances (eg your job is paying for it) my first impulse is always to tell people to say no to an MA.
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u/ProjectMuch5860 17h ago
I am about to finish my masters. I have BS in CS from a no name public school. I have 5 years of experience. My company reimburses 100% of my tuition. Getting my masters was something I personally wanted to do so I feel like I have learned a lot from it. And it’s helped me at work. I don’t know if it’s worth it for everyone. But for me it’s been fun, educational and will at then end be something to add to my resume.
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u/migustoes2 15h ago
I have a master's in CS from an accredited state school that was entirely online. Not a well known school and honestly wasn't a very good program at all. At least anecdotally it checks another box, and it's come up in most interviews as interviewers being impressed with someone getting a master's while working.
My last employer paid for it, which also made it easier to justify. I don't think it would be massively useful if you pay out of pocket.
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u/ParticularPraline739 14h ago
I'm about to find out next semester. Don't know how I will pay for it thought.
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u/phoenixmatrix 22h ago
They havent been worth it in a while. There are a few really good ones (CMUs master degrees were really good in the early 2000s, dunno if it's still the case) but most of the time they don't add much.
Worse, so many people use master degrees to "hide" a crap degree from a foreign school or a bad local one, a lot of hiring managers will see them as a minus.
Be careful what you do with your time and money.
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u/GreenMango19 22h ago
I always recommend that people pursue a PhD instead of a Masters degree. Here is why:
(1) Masters programs charge you tons of money
(2) PhD programs typically pay you money AND will typically give you a Masters degree anyway after you’ve been in the PhD program for 2 years.
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u/Illustrious-Pound266 1d ago
It's only really worth it if it's an elite program like Stanford or Carnegie Mellon
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u/Own_Unit8287 1d ago
What a stupid blanket statement. Pls don’t listen to this idiot
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u/Illustrious-Pound266 1d ago
How's that an idiotic statement? It's not like I'm the only one saying it's not worth it on this thread. Literally the most upvoted comment here is "It was never worth it."
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u/Own_Unit8287 23h ago
Bc there can be utility to a masters that isn’t at Stanford or CMU, and the way that plays out will depend on the applicant’s specific background. If you don’t see the stupidity in generalizing all masters the way you and most others in this thread are, then you truly are an idiot. Then again your response was that others parroting the same garbage means it must be true lmfao
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u/chaos_battery 22h ago
As someone with over 15 years of experience in the industry, I can tell you employers don't give two shits about your degree or where it came from or your grades or your GPA after you've initially been hired by your first company out of college. The first one might care a little bit because that's all they have to judge you on but once you have a job, I've never had another employer ask me about my education again. So yes we can make generalizations - most people in this Reddit community are living in a bubble thinking investing more time in a master's degree or going to a more prestigious school will lead to a magically better job. It just doesn't matter in the real world. Results matter. What you know matters and the kind of work that someone with a bachelor's degree does is exactly the same as someone with a master's degree. Maybe you'll get a negligible extra little bump and pay during negotiations if you're willing to push it but even then most companies don't have a separate budget for that stuff. It's just a single roll with a range specified.
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u/Own_Unit8287 22h ago edited 22h ago
Did you read the part where I said it depends on the applicant’s specific background? I’m on board with what you’re saying, esp the fact that GPA and going to an elite school for a masters don’t matter. But that doesn’t discount the utility for those who can leverage the resources that a master’s can provide. For example, a master’s can be a way of generating real-world results in contexts that someone otherwise wouldn’t be able to (esp early or mid career). The ability to network further in your field is also a huge benefit. I guarantee a master’s would also give you better quality of instruction than credential/certification programs, which could put you onto other paths of learning you otherwise wouldn’t know of.
So nope, you can’t really generalize that benefits like those aren’t worth shit to anyone just bc of your specific career path.
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u/9sim9 23h ago
It can actually hurt your chances in getting a job, in many years of hiring developers, we found that devs with masters degrees were significantly less capable than those with no degree or bachelors and this has caused some of the industry to instantly dismiss developers with masters degrees. In general 1 year of professional experience is worth more than any candidate with a degree and no professional experience.
That being said HR and hiring managers still sometimes put bachelors degree as a requirement for jobs but the majority of talented devs that we have hired over the years did not have a graduate degree.
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u/Subnetwork 1d ago
No
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u/epicfail1994 Software Engineer 23h ago
If you don’t have a CS bachelors a masters can be totally worth it, it’s how I got my current job at a large company.
If you have a bachelor’s in cs, and can’t get a job, getting a masters is just putting you in more debt