Degrees?

I

Incinerator

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 31, 2005
Messages
252
I'm entering my Junior year of college and I'm working on my BS in Computer Science and I'm really considering trying for a Master's Degree (from NC State most likely) and I was just wondering what people that are actually out in the workforce think about having a Master's. I've read in a couple places that a BS is sufficient but that a Master's helps people climb the ladder. Also, I am mainly just concerned that if I just have a BS that I will be limited because of having just a BS.

Any information you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Quite a few schools offer professional masters programs that you can do while working and if you work for a large enough company that you are doing well for you can get them to pay part or all of the fees to do it. When I saw I could complete a master degree from my school in one year I thought about it but then saw that its geared with the PhD program in mind for people that want to do either research or teach, and the other CS master program is only for people with work experience and already employed.
 
Incinerator said:
I've read in a couple places that a BS is sufficient but that a Master's helps people climb the ladder. Also, I am mainly just concerned that if I just have a BS that I will be limited because of having just a BS.

Any information you guys could provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

i am not "in the workforce" at the moment, but my understanding is this: The glass ceiling does exits. It's thickness depends on the company. If you start your own company, nobody is going to ask for your credentials anymore, unless you want VC, in which case a degree beyond BS helps.

I know that my starting salary in the near term (done with my masters in 2-4 months) will be about 30-50% higher (80-100k instead of ~60k) than I would have gotten without my masters.
 
if you're just looking at some IT type shit you're better off getting in with a BS and worrying about a master's later. MS + no experience is a major turn off to employers cuz they dont want to have to pay someone more than normal who doesnt have experience. better to get in the door first...and as someone mentioned...see about having your employer fund your studies. this is exactly what i heard from a IBM project manager who happens to be a friend of the family

but if your education is not subserviant to landing a particular job then by all means you should pursue whatever degree you want if that's truly your interest.
 
drizzt81 said:
i am not "in the workforce" at the moment, but my understanding is this: The glass ceiling does exits. It's thickness depends on the company. If you start your own company, nobody is going to ask for your credentials anymore, unless you want VC, in which case a degree beyond BS helps.

I know that my starting salary in the near term (done with my masters in 2-4 months) will be about 30-50% higher (80-100k instead of ~60k) than I would have gotten without my masters.
Click to expand...

Care to elaborate what part of the software industry starts a BS at 60K and the location of the job (ie you aren't living in CA)?
 
Stupendous said:
Care to elaborate what part of the software industry starts a BS at 60K and the location of the job (ie you aren't living in CA)?
Click to expand...

Up here in the Boston area it's common to see BS in CS majors earning 60K a year. EMC pays this much, my company pays around the same, and some other smaller companies as well. There are also companies that pay 75K starting a year up here (Raytheon, some printing company, I think MIT Lincoln Labs).

It's also equally common to see some companies offering 30-40K to the same majors.

A master's would be nice to have - I was kind of getting tired of pure academia so I wanted to enter the workforce before going back for advanced degrees. Recharge my batteries, if you will. :)
 
My company (a very large and well known software company), starts people fresh out of college (With BS in CS, Engineering, or IT) at ~35-40k in consulting positions. Only one guy on our Junior consulting team has a masters (MBA actually), and he's making only a couple thousand more than the rest of us :p

After 2 years with the company it's bumped up to ~60-70k. Compared to other consulting firms in the area, the starting salary is pretty low, but I think most people work there to have the company on their resume :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top