companies in silicon valley often run at fast pace. I wonder if people do have time to study something in college in spare time making use of tuition reimbursement program that is part of employees benefits ? such as people in Google, Apple, Marvell, etc
Outside of graduate degrees there are a lot of online certification programs that are worth pursuing. Leadership, project management, GD&T, six sigma etc. I don’t think the reimbursement amount is enough to cover a degree anyways.
I know a lot of people who manage technical and management graduate Kellen courses while working.
I'd caution getting another technical degree if you already have one. If you're going back to school on your company's dime, then pursue an adjacent skillset like business management.
Maybe I'm missing something. What if one wants to change the technical field they are in or learn more advanced skills. Any disadvantages of getting a second technical degree?
If you want to change your field or learn something you don't yet know, then yes. I'd recommend going back to school for that reason. All I'm saying is there isn't a reason to "double down" in a single subject. If you have a B.S.E. in Chemistry, then I wouldn't get your Masters in the same discipline. It won't do you much good.
You can make time for another degree by using weekends and optimizing evenings better..I'm in the georgia tech omscs program and know a lot of people with varied experience levels taking this.
How are you liking the OMSCS? I was considering applying but I don't have a CS background just a couple classes
I got my master's degree on Intel's dime. It helped me switch from a non exempt technician role to an exempt engineering role. So, depending on the circumstance, it can be well worth the time investment.
I went into Intel with an EE associate degree and got a BSEE + an associate in another discipline on Intels dime. Was def worth it but this was prior to online and didn't school in summers so took six years. Except for summers, my life was work and school during that time.
How did you guys get Intel to pay for your graduate degrees?
Just follow the process, talk to your manager about it. I believe it took a few layers of approval, but the money doesn't come out of your orgs budget so I think that makes it easy to approve.
Oh God, it's hell everyday
I finished my MS in Computer Engineering while working at Apple. I have a single income family with wife and 2 kids that are less than 4 years old. It took me 3+ years to finish. Is it hard? Yeah absolutely, balancing between work at Apple vs family vs school is no joke. Is it doable? Absolutely! You have to sacrifice your weekends and some nights after work. Looking back, I may not have learnt much as I already have industry experience but the network I gained while at school was priceless!!!
I only met one guy from Apple who was pursuing an MSEE during my time at Stanford. I believe he eventually dropped out or switched to the 100% online option. Getting a graduate degree is possible while working at a fast-pace company, but duration of the degree will vary. If your program is 100% online you can probably complete the degree in 2-3 years if you do not want to have a life outside school and work.