4 ms·
To be honest, this doesn't seem like a great deal, unless you're the sort who wants that piece of paper validating your existence. Classes for an MS (at least i
by tych0 13y ago
To be honest, this doesn't seem like a great deal, unless you're the sort who wants that piece of paper validating your existence. Classes for an MS (at least in my experience at a top-10 US university) are not particularly more valuable than classes in undergrad.
Where you really learn a lot is from your peers, which you wouldn't be able to do in an online course. Debates at lunch, in reading groups, and at the bar all made me a much better CS geek and programmer than any course I took. In fact, I'd go so far as to say I didn't learn much at all in the classes.
This is nothing against the classes, the profs did a good job and prepared well (for the most part), it's just that the sheer volume of knowledge inflicted on my by my peers couldn't have been in a lecture 3-5 hours a week + some homeworks.
- gtCameron 13y agoThe piece of paper isn't to validate your self worth, its to validate to your prospective employers that you are worth more money. My quick Google search pegs the increase in starting salary going from BS to MS at $18,200 a year [1]. Being able to make that leap for $7k seems like a pretty good deal to me. [1] http://www.naceweb.org/Press/Releases/Payoff_for_Master_s_Degree_Evident_in_Starting_Salaries.aspx http://www.naceweb.org/Press/Releases/Payoff_for_Master_s_De...
- michaelochurch 13y agoI don't disagree with you. I have no idea how the market will react. However... PhD admissions are highly selective, and terminal MS programs are highly expensive. The Master's degree means you were either a top student (able to pass PhD admissions) or independently wealthy and probably packing serious connections. When it no longer means that, is it still going to provide the salary bump? Quite possibly, yes. I wouldn't call it guaranteed, though.
- gtCameron 13y agoOne of the most interesting things about how they are handling this is that they claim they are not lowering admission standards, they are just allowing people who meet those standards but can't participate in the regular program due to having a full time job, inability to move to Atlanta for 3 years, or whatever the reason is. It will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this degree. Will it be regarded as a masters degree from a top 10 program, or will it be seen as a cheap online degree that doesn't hold the same esteem?
- tych0 13y agoAh, yeah, I guess I wasn't thinking about the money aspect at all, just that you're sort of robbing yourself of the complete MS experience if you don't do an in-person one.
- josephjrobison 13y agoCould be useful for us Marketing majors who now wish we got a CS degree in undergrad, and the best option is to get a CS Master's now