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Ask HN: Should I get that Masters Degree?

2 points by icarium ↗ HN
A bit of context - I have a bachelors in CS. I have been working for a couple of years now, writing interesting ROR apps, the usual webby stuff. Off late I feel like I'm getting in to a steady rhythm. The problems which I'm solving feel a bit too similar and this worries me.

I feel like I need to be working on something new, bleeding edge sort of work, which I will not get to do right now as I lack the exposure. Am I right in making this assumption? Will getting a masters change this and open up a few avenues?

Now, I don't want to go for a masters just because I'm bored. I want to get a masters as I can specialize in something technical. Is it the only way to do so? Are there any alternatives?

What would the biggest advantage of getting the degree? Any recommendations?

3 comments

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rakkhi
Firstly it is hard to argue that more education is a bad thing. If you are truly passionate about a topic and want to research it go for it it.

You will also meet a lot of good contacts in terms of fellow students, lecturers and tutors as well as industry people as part of your research.

However if you do want to work for a startup - working on your own practical innovation or startup maybe a better path. Also doing a lot of networking may yield faster results.

I find the Google application process particularly enlighting in terms of what they value - a master and other education take a side step to experiance and side projects in particular

If you do decide to do one though maybe consider an open university so that you can continue to work or if you have the funds to burn work on your own project or voleentear at a startup or work on an open source project which in the end maybe as much or more valuable than the MA next to your name at the end of it

lzw
Nothing stopping you from going after something more technical and more challenging. Every time I've been in the job market- back when I still deigned to work for other people- I got a range of offers, some of which were mundane and some of which were challenging. Just pick the challenging ones. Don't let yourself be typecast.... Took me forcing the issue to get off of working on windows software, for instance.

There is no way a masters will teach you near as much as you can learn on your own..... Just doing a startup and working on a hard problem on the side will teach you an amazing amount. You just have to apply yourself and bite off something worth chewing.

Plus, why pay someone to teach you old stuff when you can earn good money blazing new pathways? I hear people say that masters are supposed to teach you how to think, I haven't found that to be true, and that if you haven't learned by then, you won't learn it in school.

queensnake
The better a student you are, and the better a school you go to, the more difference it will make. A Master's won't automatically get you more interesting + challenging jobs.