I am at an early stage of my career in India and want more exposure (while still young and can take the risks). I am planning to move to US (via MS) in hope of better quality work & lifestyle. 3 parts of the question: 1) Is MS (CS) in US still worth it? 2) If so, what does it take to get into decent colleges/unis? How do folks who have very little/no research experience get accepted in top universities. What can be done to build a strong MS profile? 3) Is it even necessary to go to top tier colleges or there is generally no preference given based on universities once you are able to secure an interview. TIA TC: 30LPA (~40k USD) #tech #ms #cs #us #h1b #l1 #softwareengineer
If you want better quality work & lifestyle and not *RESEARCH*, don't do masters. Just take an L1 transfer and apply for H1B.
Going via L1 has it's own downsides 1) Lesser chances of hitting the H1B lottery that is you have to stay at the same company until you do so. 2) Even if you do stay then TC progresses slowly in the start as there is no new hire grant. So it will take 3-4 years for TC to catch up with industry standards.
That's true, I know people who got their H1B accepted in the 1st go, others at 2nd, 3rd attempt. But the question should be: are you willing to sacrifice 2YoE + 2Y TC + small loan (depends on your finance) + 2Y compromised living for getting H1B 1-2 years early? I'm assuming you've no interest in research.
Hey, I was in a similar situation a year ago. I applied to MS in CE/CS with couple of years of work ex, hoping to have better work/more impactful work post MS. (Basically had the same doubts as you). Headed to CMU MS CE now. Received admits from UIUC and GT too. 1. MS CS is definitely still worth it, provided you can financially afford it. Scholarships for MS programs are rare and incredibly difficult to get. Prepare to shell out anything in the range of $40k-$100k in total, depending on the university. 2. I have couple of research papers, but mostly low-mid impact research. So I got in due to my work ex. I build large-scale distributed systems at work, and want to delve deeper into the same during master's. Spoke volumes about this and the logical connect in my SOP (spent a lot of time on my SOP infact), Ensure you have 325+ GRE, 110+ TOEFL. Good undergrad grades help a lot as well. 3. Not necessary to go to a top tier university, but initial opportunities at top tier universities are larger. Brand names do help in getting a foot in the door for interviews, but post that what matters is how good you are. Hope this helps!
Thanks for putting this together. Just curious what are your views on going via L1 visa as suggested by others. Will having MS degree have it's own upsides?
I had 3 yoe, 43 lpa TC at Salesforce when I went for MS CS. I went for it to have a different experience in life besides the potential financial upside ofcourse (I won't be losing money anyway in long term obviously). Fortunately I got into Georgia Tech (GRE 324, TOEFL 101), which got me 100% tution waivers and a 1000$ per month stipend in 2 of the 3 semesters. I interned at Salesforce US which paid quite lucratively too ($29000 post tax). Effectively I got $10k into my pocket over 16 months of my Masters, ofcourse I lost 16 months of salary but that will be covered with my first year pay at Google US (205k TC + 40k sign on) End of the day, I got to experience a new culture and got a completely different perspective in life. If not for covid, I would have made more valuable memories. My regret was why I didn't come much earlier to US π But as you are in Google, you should try the L1B transfer.
Hey, did you have any research experience? Or did you get fee waiver only due to GRE score?
Georgia Tech CS department offers tution waivers to everyone, it's a given
You need to understand that every kid on the block in India is doing an MS today so your point of having better chance of getting h1b with MS isn't true any more. Have some patience, get to L4 and then transfer internally on L1B. With Biden this should be a cakewalk
So what did you decide OP?
this^
I am also having same question now, so what decision did you make? and can you explain why?
I ended up going L1B route. The ease, opportunity cost, lower stress and hope of early H1B were some of the decision factors I guess
Great, What is your suggestion for my situation. I tried to get a remote job in US but its very limited for my YOE, so I am planning to do MS in US so I can get a job. Is this route okay or is it better to get into FAANG companies in india and move to US later with L1B? YOE - 2 CTC - 14 LPA(INR)
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1. Yes 2. Good GRE and some experience that can stand out in ur application. Try to write a good SOP. 3. Good university will be a long term label on ur resume but not always needed. The experience is somewhat comparable if u choose a lower grade colleg vs. Higer grade college in India. But at the same time consider the tuition+cost of living + ur affordability. Now, go study for GRE first and get decent grades.
Can you elaborate a bit on what makes your experience stand out? Your answer to 2nd point seems a bit generic, it would be great if you could share some pointers.