Cornell Tech in NYC: rank 6 in CS. Duration: 9 months. No scope for research and limited course selection, but better for resume branding and entrepreneurship. The existing course selection is almost exactly what I want and the courses are likely better and more current than those at GATech. Would be stuck taking mandatory "Studio" curriculum and doing some assigned project for a company. Could write "Cornell University" instead of "Cornell Tech" on my resume, as some people already do, and received explicit approval to do so from Cornell Tech CS admissions. Coursework on entrepreneurship might be useful b/c I have a side project that I've thought about developing further and selling. Then there is also the fact that this is an Ivy and no one has heard of my undergrad. Cornell and Cornell Tech M.Eng CS admission rate: 20% overall in 2017 (like GA Tech at the time) but this has likely dropped significantly GATech in Atlanta: rank 8 in CS. Duration: 16 months. Potential (but no guarantee) to be granted permission to write a thesis and maybe publish a couple of research ideas I've had and would like to explore. Some courses have become a bit dated based on what I have read online, but there is much greater course variety than at Cornell Tech. Aside from inferior rank and non-Ivy status, the other major branding disadvantage is that this program is indistinguishable from the online one on anyone's resume - it's possible to start the online one in year X and complete it in year X+1 while unemployed, just like the on-campus one and for less tuition. Admission rate: 10% overall in 2020 but >30% for US citizens Before anyone asks, I have already considered GATech's online MS CS. It is good but nearly ubiquitous at this point. I have read multiple posts online stating that it yielded no career benefit, perhaps because it doesn't provide the same branding and networking boost as completing a more selective program that brands each graduate as "top talent" to recruiters and hiring managers. Its admission rate is over 60%. Most recruiters know that and hence don't regard it in the same light as top on-campus programs, although finishing it while working full-time is debatably the better indicator of competence. My ideal goal is to do research, learn about entrepreneurship, and then return to the industry while learning as much as possible and improving my resume branding. Unfortunately, no single CS master's program allows me to do research AND learn about entrepreneurship. Supposedly some people go on to do a Ph.D. even after the Cornell M.Eng in CS, although I'm unsure about the Cornell Tech M.Eng in CS. I am seriously questioning the point in getting a master's at all but I transitioned to software engineering from a different field and know I'd learn a lot. I'm mainly hoping to improve my skills and never be turned down for any position again based on my lack of education. Plus I think these courses would be very interesting. #engineering #education #computerscience YOE: 5
As mentioned, the goal is to improve my skills first and foremost, in addition to improving my resume and branding. I agree that it's possible to improve my skills without getting a graduate degree; however, not all recruiters and hiring managers agree.
A brand name and a good skill set absolutely helps. More than one way to skin a cat, as they say. I wish you the best of luck! You mentioned you were wondering if you even needed one. The answer is definitely no. I may have “made it” without the “right degrees” in ML. But I have to admit, I am the only one I know like me in this field. Do what you gotta do and follow your dreams! Clearly you’re doing something right to have been accepted to such wonderful programs.
If it’s for branding then 100% Cornell. Not sure what GA Tech would do for you unless you have a non-CS undergrad degree
Repeat after me, MS programs don't teach you squat. They are cash cow programs for you to subsidize education for US citizens. A "thesis" in a Masters program while doing coursework is worth nothing and of no use. MS in US is a stepping stone for H1B. Do the cheapest thing you can.
The MS thesis could be useful for one's professional aspirations if it produces a publication (in a top journal).
How will one paper published make a difference? I am not discouraging you but trying to understand your motivation. If publishing and research is what you want, do a PhD. Why take a half hearted step as an MEng program to do research? MS thesis will not advance any professional aspiration. It is very rare (although I have seen it happen).
No one cares about a master’s degree. Two years at FAANG would get you farther. If your goal is purely learning then pick the program that has courses you’re interested in. The Cornell Tech program is pretty limited, so make sure it covers what you want. As for Georgia Tech, it is a top program and you’d learn a lot but that’s two years full time. You’d be better off doing OMSCS at your own pace while working. The opportunity cost of going full time is real because, again, no one will care about your degree.
The on-campus GA Tech MS CS takes 16 months, and Cornell's program takes 9. I'd rather stay at Bloomberg than go to Amazon but agree about the rest of FAANG. I've learned a ton at Bloomberg as well and can continue to do so.
Side note: is it possible to complete the OMSCS without getting PIP'ed at any of the FAANG companies besides Google?
What you are discounting is intern experience. The MEng will not give you the opportunity to intern and convert. The Gatech MS degree is 3 sems so you will have a summer to intern. Conversion from intern to FT is the easiest way to get a job in top companies. Go to Gatech, Gatech has great industry rep in tech.
I already have 5 YOE as a software engineer. What would be the benefit of interning?
“Conversion from intern to FT is the easiest way to get a job in top companies.” This is the benefit of interning..
FWIW, I'm finishing the GATech MS CS soon (part-time) and I've learned a lot during it. I also switched fields from a non-CS STEM undergrad. I've found it helped me w/ getting a more rounded out foundation in CS. I don't care about doing research but in a lot of the classes you read + reproduce results journal articles which would still probably be helpful for you if that's your goal. I've also heard that (rarely) some of the OMSCS students go on to do PhDs in CS - for that it would probably be useful to proactively reach out to professors and try to do research with some. At the end of the day whatever program you choose you'll get what you put into it.
Get a tech job in the Valley and do Stanford through SCPD on company buck.
I was rejected by SCPD when I applied last year, perhaps because I don't have a CS degree. Not sure why
Start with non-degree option. Then apply into the program. You can get half the credits this way before you formally get in, and establish that you can perform.
Where did you go?
Cornell, because it's 9 months instead of 16 months, is ranked higher, and Cornell Tech (13.9%) sends a higher percentage of CS alums to FAAMG (including AWS) than GA Tech (12.1%) according to public LinkedIn data. Plus the network and curriculum are much more useful if I decide to pursue one of my startup ideas and seek funding for it. FAAMG obviously aren't the only top tech companies, but these percentages are a great proxy for how each program is viewed in the industry. By comparison, 10.3% of MIT CS, 11.7% of UC Berkeley CS, 12.3% of UIUC CS, and 11.3% of Columbia CS alums are at FAAMG. Cornell Tech sends a higher percentage of its CS alumni to FAAMG than all other Ivies except Princeton. This branding boost is slightly greater if I list Cornell (14.5%) instead of Cornell Tech (13.9%) on my resume, which is allowed and completely legal since the degree comes from Cornell University either way. Also relevant: https://www.reddit.com/r/csMajors/comments/mowct6/faag_by_school/ (slightly outdated now; it excludes MSFT, which when added places Cornell above all other Ivies including Princeton)
OP here. Following up on this thread, now about 12.9% of Cornell Tech and 12.2% of GA Tech CS alumni who graduated in 2021 or earlier go to FAAMG aka GAMMA, according to my last LinkedIn verification a month ago. The difference has shrunk and Cornell Tech continues to remove more and more classes each year that are useful to working software engineers and teaches nearly all CS courses in Python. Meanwhile, it is unnecessarily stricter about prereqs and no longer allows CS students to take courses across the Cornell Ithaca and NYC campuses. Hence, I chose GA Tech due to my goal to study distributed systems and ML. Both are strong in ML but GA Tech is much stronger in systems given the current course offerings of both campuses.
Where did you go?
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Nice! Go on campus to GATech and pay like 5x what I'm paying for the same degree!
...same degree minus the capstone option and non-guaranteed thesis option, plus some courses not offered online. But the same degree on my resume for sure unless I write "on campus."
There's no "unless". It is same