I'm going to graduate soon. Should I move on and take that or go to work and learn from there?

That depends on what is your first degree and what masters degree you want to take?

I have the knowledge that C.S. as first degree + Business and management as masters degree, kicks ass if you want to manage your own company.

Also as far as I know two degrees in C.S. are not that useful unless you plan to do Ph.D. later on and stay at one of the universities to do researches.

If I would be you, I would finish my B.Sc and go work to get some real practice and only after few years to see if I want to do masters degree.

Anyway my knowledge is limited so you shouldn't form you opinion based only on my response.

Good Luck :)

I would say yes; if you can afford to, it's a perfect opportunity to spread your wings and find new things to do in life.

The best you can realistically do with a BSc in Computer Science (just the undergraduate degree) is coding and software development, which is the default getting off point for new CS graduates. It's soul destroying and generally very poorly paid, with little to no chance of escape.

Everyone I've known who have taken Masters degrees are working in a wide array of roles in a wide variety of organisations simply because they've got the extra skills to branch out and do other things, whereas the graduate code monkeys don't.

I've been in the coding and development rut before and refuse to go back to it, which is why I'm embarking on a Masters course in September.

Good luck in whatever you choose to do; I would say a Masters, particularly in something practical like computer networking, is a real bonus if you can afford to do it.

Quote: Original post by John Stuart
I'm going to graduate soon. Should I move on and take that or go to work and learn from there?

Should you?

If you want to get the degree, then do it. If you want it but don't pursue it, you will regret it the rest of your life. You will be talking to your grandchildren about how you didn't follow that dream.


If you don't want the degree, then don't do it. Don't get the degree just because you think it will help in your job. Don't get it just because your family says you should. If you don't want it, then don't waste the time and money.


If you honestly don't know the answers to those questions, I strongly suggest you do some soul-searching and find an answer. The book "What Color Is Your Parachute?", also known as the job hunter's bible, has a very good soul-searching exercise in the appendix, that is focused on building your career.

Hey,

I would get one, especially if you find yourself in a position where you can get it for free. Many schools offer great tuition waivers and even stipends that can help you make a (small) living. This is what I did and I'm so glad that I spend the extra two years in school. I really grew a lot and have so many very positive experiences from graduate school.

Quote:
The best you can realistically do with a BSc in Computer Science (just the undergraduate degree) is coding and software development, which is the default getting off point for new CS graduates. It's soul destroying and generally very poorly paid, with little to no chance of escape.

Don't let ukdevloper scare you off. I've worked at some bad shops, but also some really good ones. On the contrary, all my jobs have paid very well. I started 80K out of college and have only moved up. I don't think a MS in the same subject you got your BS in does much. Sure you will learn some more complicated things, but if you were a good undergrad student, you will be able to learn those complicated things later on the job. For example, if getting a MS taught you algorithm X and you need algorithm X for your job, but you didn't get your MS, then you can just study algorithm X at work and get paid for it.

Quote: Original post by s.kwee
If I would be you, I would finish my B.Sc and go work to get some real practice and only after few years to see if I want to do masters degree.

I seem to be on the other side of the spectrum as most people here and agree with this post.

One of my friends I went to college with just finished up his BS in programming and is going straight into a Masters degree. I've got no problem with this, other than the fact he's probably only written a few hundred lines of code in his life and copied and pasted the rest. You could have 3 masters and still suck at a job because you have no experience. However, I doubt you'd suck at going for a masters after getting some real-world experience.

I can guarantee you that there is stuff you would learn in a year in a typical programming job that you would barely touch in school.

Just like everyone else mentioned, do what you feel you want, both have their benefits.

For getting a job as a programmer I don't think that a masters is going to be all that helpful. Two years of real experience will be much more applicable then two more years of school. But if you want to get it because its something you want to do then now would be the time to do it. Its hard to say where you will be in a few years and you may not have the chance to go back. And you will kick yourself for the rest of your life it you miss the chance.

I think frob has the right idea with reading what color is your parachute. I'll just add a few thoughts on getting the masters degree. First, I think you need to take a look at what it'll cost you to get it. Can you get a scholarship? If you have a masters thats a salary negotiating chip(obviously this varies based on what university the degree is from, you need to consider which ones you can get into), but if you have to take on a ton of debt to get it, that may not be worth it. After you look at that, you should consider if this will actually help you get where you want to go. A masters degree can help you cut though the HR nonsense and get an interview with people who actually know what they are about in some fields. Sometimes there are ways around this(as detailed in what color is your parachute), sometimes not. Is where you want to go one of those sometimes not places? You need to figure out how helpful you think this will be(Which as I said, will probably vary by field), vs how much debt you need to take on, and weigh that against your level of interest in the subject, and look at what kind of courses are offered in the degree. I would say if you are sick of school, then that should be a big indicator that you should work for awhile before going back to it.

Anyway, theres not really a right or wrong answer about it, it depends on a large variety of personal factors. You need to weigh them up, and make a decision thats good for you.