user
Time for another thread about my personal dilemmas. I am currently a master student at LAU doing my second semester, paying an unholy tuition of 2040$ per course(4080$ per semester) and learning the most useless things one can learn about computers. It's wasting my money, it's wasting my time, it's consuming my energy. I have a full time job and I have a large queu of freelance jobs for the remainder of the time. So I am debating whether or not to leave the university altogether, I've been so swamped lately that I could not even do a simple homework in 4 weeks.
I personally believe masters in computer science to be completely useless(Actually I believe the BS I have in computer science to be completely useless too). In job interviews I was never asked about my education or my grades. I always get asked about previous projects, and staying in the university means less of those, more energy wasted computer pie to 1000 decimals and less energy available to do something relevant to my career.
What do you guys think? I'd like to also hear from people who have the masters, has it opened up opportunities that were otherwise unavailable? And I'd like to know from employers on this forum, do you care if the applicant has a masters or not?
As usual any input is welcomed
Kassem
Completely useless. I have yet to see a computer science graduate (or any similar program) that actually learned something that is relevant to the job market. I'm not saying you should not go to the university altogether, because the theory and foundational knowledge you learn could prove to be somewhat useful at a point in time. But, going for a master's degree in computer science is a bit overkill - complete waste of time and money.
MrClass
You are better off attending a technical course and getting certified
jsaade
The only reason to do a masters is if you want to teach in a university. This is a requirement in universities (worldwide i think). But you could teach CS even if you have masters in business, so the masters speciality does not really matter. Most job requirement need BS unless you are applying to an r&d department or highly research based position, those usually require MS or PHD
rtp
on a brighter side, google employs people who have an MS degree.
user
I taught a lab in the university last semester and never again will I teach anything. It was so awful, I thought university students would be less like children, apparently I had forgotten what it means to be a student.
So I guess I'll go ahead and drop it then.
Ra8
rtp wroteon a brighter side, google employs people who have an MS degree.
My friend got a job in Google and he just graduated. You don't need an MS degree, even at Facebook.
rtp
Ra8 wrote
My friend got a job in Google and he just graduated. You don't need an MS degree, even at Facebook.
Weird, I remember seeing several job posts and all required MS to apply.
rolf
I don't know about Masters in particular but it seems that university education in general is a significant advantage when trying to get hired.
I don't have data to back up that claim, though.
user
Well I went to the university today and officially dropped my courses, and I intend to never go back.
rolf wroteI don't know about Masters in particular but it seems that university education in general is a significant advantage when trying to get hired.
I don't have data to back up that claim, though.
It depends on the person and the job in question. Banks and other big corporations with an HR department handling everything blindly would care a lot about your degree. But good development companies looking for a very specific requirement and offering competitive salaries in that requirement will only care how well you satisfy the requirement and not care about your education background. And those are the only jobs I ever go for. I am very specific about what I am, a masters degree will not open up new jobs for me or make me any more attractive for the jobs I am qualified for.
rolf
user wroteWell I went to the university today and officially dropped my courses, and I intend to never go back.
rolf wroteI don't know about Masters in particular but it seems that university education in general is a significant advantage when trying to get hired.
I don't have data to back up that claim, though.
It depends on the person and the job in question. Banks and other big corporations with an HR department handling everything blindly would care a lot about your degree. But good development companies looking for a very specific requirement and offering competitive salaries in that requirement will only care how well you satisfy the requirement and not care about your education background. And those are the only jobs I ever go for. I am very specific about what I am, a masters degree will not open up new jobs for me or make me any more attractive for the jobs I am qualified for.
I agree.
Well if you have it all figured out and decided, why bother :) ?
But then why did you get into this in the first place?
Dex
It's a complete waste of time and money.
You did the right thing by dropping out :)
Stygmata
Certifications are more important IMHO ... I learned nothing in college I use now ..and I am an IT manager for a group of 7 companies ( more than 2000 users and 15 servers )
tech-guru
@user From My Personal Experience:
- I Graduated from LAU 2006 - Computer Science with Honor List and I did minor in Business (Finance) + I get trained in Mobile Networking (GSM/WCDMA) ; I worked in coding in the Central Bank of Lebanon mainly with Databases ( SQL Quarries on Oracle 10g) - I entered " wasta" and I excelled ; but I decided to be more cross - functional in my career and I went back to LAU and I Finished by MBA which is more worthy compared to an MS in Computer Science.
- There is no Rule of thumb ; Luck plays a role- coding world is obsolete environment you need to always be updated and a Computer Science students he/ she needs to chose his electives wisely like OLAP Tool; Advance Data Bases; OO Languages ; Advance Networking - All Taken as CS electives ; but lot of unusable courses like 6 Math Courses (Calculus 3 and 4 , Linear Algebra , Discrete 1 and 2 and one elective)
- MCSD , MSCA , CCNA , CCNP ,Oracle Certified Professional (Java etc...) , CISA (Certified Internal System Auditor) are better on the CV for the work environment than an MS ; an MS + Certification will be a very strong curriculum vitae ; even an PMP is good now a days.
- MBA + CS for me was an added advantage as a cross functional candidate companies started to call me ; an IT background with a business administration orientation for example I worked on an Accounting Project ; a Banking System ; .. as a Business Analyst by shifting the functional requirements and mapping them into a UML / ERD than translating them into a software development cycle the logic came from my MBA and the technical came from my IT.
Link-
There is a difference between a 'Technician' and a 'Computer Scientist' (which is what this program you're in is preparing you to be). So don't complain about not getting enough 'technical' experience. If you want that, drop out and go get some useless certifications that depreciate as fast as the rate in which technology becomes obsolete these days.
If you feel that learning the fundamentals of a rigorous scientific discipline is a 'waste of your time', and that freelancing is a much better use of it, I'm afraid to tell you that you're a short term thinker. Don't be blinded by the need to generate more income now and the Lebanese mindset claiming that a steady job at a prestigious firm (usually a bank or the likes) is a guarantee to a financially stable future.
This decision, that you're contemplating now will define who you are and who you will be: an employee waiting for the end of year bonus/raise and barely making ends meet or a well educated individual utilizing his mastered skills in adding value anywhere he sets foot.
Good luck.
user
Yeah I might switch to MBA if I can, I got that advice before, to do something in business and having the combo of business+computer science. It would help in team management and in landing deals etc...
Ayman
Nothing will help you but experience. MBA might be slightly better than an MS in CS but still, without the proper experience it is completely useless. Go out there and start working in whatever you want to work in, learn as much as possible. MBA is complementary to experience, don't expect it to open up great jobs for you just because you possess two degrees. Anyone can get a degree these days.
Badieh
If you feel MS is useless, wait till you reach the project/thesis phase. You will feel like you are wasting tons of time for a project you might never use.
My suggestion would be to switch to MBA:
1- You would have a masters degree.
2- You would open up more opportunities in different fields.
3- You would acquire some managerial skills.
Win - Win situation :)
automata
A Masters in Computer Science isn't useless. Just like any discipline, it makes you delve more into it.
I'm afraid the issue lies with the CS Masters program given at LAU.
It amazes me how none of you haven't even considered that. It's the 70% boring courses, 70% incompetent instructors, the lack of motivation in the program, and the not up to date CS courses taught there.
I won't elaborate more on the issue, but my advice to you is that a Masters in CS is really worth it if you want to explore more territories into this area, and to consider a better CS Masters program at different university.
arithma
@user:
TLDR: If you're staying in Lebanon: postpone your CS degree and instead focus on your career till you feel like CS makes sense again (when you'll get bored to shits in the industry). If your plan is to leave Lebanon, leave everything you're doing and focus on a respectable MSc degree. If you don't like LAU's program, checkout other universities. You could do an AUB CS Masters degree completely free by going for Graduate Assistantship where you work for 14-20 hours a week for your department.
Getting a masters degree in CS from a good university in Lebanon could help you if you want to work abroad since you'd be differentiated from the local candidates to the employers in those countries. It may not help you as much, except for personal growth, if your target is working in Lebanon (it may actually pull you back career wise, since you'd be behind your peers in the industry.)
If you're paying for your Masters degree, then there's something really wrong (unless I guess if you also have a side job or something like that.)
If you don't believe in the thesis project you'd be working on, you're wasting your time.
If you don't like "Computer Science," there is no way you're going to get anything out of a Masters degree.
If you decide to do your Masters degree, make sure you also practice the industrial side (maybe by taking in freelancing projects.) You can easily get caught up in the theory which can get dense sometimes, even here in Lebanon.
It's a set of tradeoffs between short-term and long-term benefits.
DISCLAIMER: I have only seen the Masters program at AUB, and only in the Computational Science track rather than Computer Science. I should be continuing next fall due to a year of absence to move with work.
Personal opinion on MBA: Totally useless, UNLESS you want to work locally. For a foreign country, a foreign MBA is a joke, as it has no way to be relevant to the local community. MBA's in the IT world are subject to ridicule these days as part of the startup culture. Look real deep into your soul, and take an hour long look in the mirror before going for MBA.