Work in SF for 110K vs MS@Columbia

NASA
cJep56

Go to company page NASA

cJep56
Apr 2 22 Comments

I'm at a career crossroads right after graduating college. I can work in the bay, but 110K is pretty poverty from what I see on here especially considering rent in (say) Fremont/Miliptas would be 30% of my income. The quality of work + team at the company (non-FAANG) is excellent.

I can also move to the east coast and do an MS at either Columbia, Penn, or Cornell hoping it would increase my TC right after. Downside is that I would be ~60K in debt at the end of my two-year program.

What should I do?

TC: 110K
YOE: 0

73 PARTICIPANTS SELECT ONLY ONE ANSWER
VOTE VIEW RESULT

comments

Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 22 Comments
  • Microsoft / Eng
    ms11

    Go to company page Microsoft Eng

    ms11
    nobody cares about a masters degree at work.
    save those precious 2 years and a debt. leetcode instead and jump for a higher TC.

    people who voted for masters clearly doesn’t know how industry works…
    Apr 2 6
  • New
    data-geek9

    New

    data-geek9
    Work then upgrade tc
    Apr 2 0
  • Amazon
    Day-2

    Go to company page Amazon

    Day-2
    You can definitely live in SF on 110k. Don't let the ridiculous standards here cloud your thinking. Work for 1+ years and jump to FAANG.

    Doesn't make sense to go way into debt and not work because you think 110 isn't enough. Just start working and upgrade jobs soon.
    Apr 2 0
  • Apple
    xhmI58

    Go to company page Apple

    xhmI58
    Don’t do an MS unless it’s paid for.
    Apr 2 3
    • Zoom
      no932z

      Go to company page Zoom

      no932z
      this. i got a ms from via my past employer. its a cash cow program though but free degree is free degree nonetheless
      Apr 2
    • Apple
      xhmI58

      Go to company page Apple

      xhmI58
      You can also get funding for full time school. RA/TA etc depending on the major, but the above options are good too.
      Apr 2
  • Meta / Eng
    delete[]

    Go to company page Meta Eng

    delete[]
    PhD might be different, but doing a MS degree to become a SWE isn't worthy it. This is mainly for visa holders who need a higher degree for easier green card process.

    What do you want to do during your MS?

    It won't increase your TC unfortunately. MS/BS mostly go to the same bucket. E.g., E3 for Meta, L3 for Google. TC differences are virtually none.

    Nonetheless if you're really passionate about learning advanced classes, and potentially learning specialized skills, say some core ML network design, a system-level specialty. Then it might help. But still ROI isn't good.

    Note: I have a PhD in CS. It's really hard for me to recommend doing a PhD :)
    Apr 2 2
    • NASA
      cJep56

      Go to company page NASA

      cJep56
      OP
      Ultimately, my dream role would be an ML Scientist at FAANG. I was considering a Ph.D. for a while since I have had a pretty strong publishing record throughout undergrad.

      If I'm doing an MS, I would spend ~80% of it doing research. I don't need a visa. But then again, the high bar for ML research at FAANG seem like an indicator that I should do SWE instead of ML research.

      Really appreciate the words of wisdom.
      Apr 2
    • Meta / Eng
      delete[]

      Go to company page Meta Eng

      delete[]
      Then you really should go for a strong PhD program, which is crazy to get in.

      If money doesn't matter in short term, you should do this MS program.

      1) Publish paper(s). Theses days too many candidates have top tier ML papers.
      2) Get a research-ish intern position during your MS.
      3) At the time of graduation of MS, try both top PhD programs and ML research positions. The downside is that a strong candidate directly joins a PhD program without a MS. If you convert your MS program to the PhD program at the same school, you could shorten your time. PhD as you know well would take 5-6 years.

      And you said that you'd do more research during your MS? Which MS program offers such RA opportunities? Are you really sure? If so, you'd get a RA, which includes tuition waiver. So, you don't need to make a debt.

      Also the research isn't that beautiful as you might think :)
      Apr 2