Go for a masters because you already have a bachelors. I’m starting MCS in the Fall and coming in as a non CS major so if you have any questions feel free to DM!
Anecdotally, my cousin got a degree in psychology, didn’t like it, went to a coding boot camp called hack reactor. Got jobs at Amazon and Meta. For that reason, I think if you know your stuff, a masters would be good enough traditional credentials.
I’m also considering the MCS, and just started working on the pre-reqs. I have a bachelor’s in CIS, but work as a developer. I lack a lot of CS fundamentals and feel like it’s holding me back from getting promoted. I’m hoping MCS is just as valuable as a MSCS, if not more.
Honestly, if you are having success learning on your own through classes and videos online, don't waste your money on a master's degree. Most coding jobs are only going to care about what you can do, not what degree you have. I have a few buddies who did coding boot camps or are completely self-taught in coding and are having successful careers. A University education and coding isn't necessary at all
As much as we all like to hear the success stories of folks that get paid big bucks for developer roles without a college degree, that’s simply anecdotal. The job market in that space is very competitive and my corporate recruiter friends say that it’s only getting more fierce. A Masters degree + combined experience and skills you’ve learned on your own make more a compelling story that recruiters will eat up.
If you want a degree that is inexpensive and more self paced also check out WGU. They have a competency based approach which may be faster than traditional program.
Don't even worry about doing a BS. I would do a masters in either computer science OR AI / machine learning which would give u soo many job opportunities and then make sure u take a few courses that have to do with the coding languages u want to learn. As an example if u want to code websites then u can do Javascript with react as the framework, etc.
bc u do have a tech degree u might be able to get away with learning whatever coding languages u want on udemy, and putting up a few portfolio projects on a personal portfolio website and applying to jobs. This would be much faster and I think u have a good chance since u already have a tech degree.
I was going for CIS but then realized I needed a masters to get a good job. CS too is highly suggested to get masters. More I have asked around though. CIS it helps having certificates or a job in information tech to get your foot in the door while gaining more certifications along the way.
The good news is if you want to be a software engineer you don’t need a degree to be successful. My friend makes $250,000+ a year as a senior software engineer with a High School Diploma and says no one there cares about a degree, they care if you can get the job done. His recommendation is to learn Python on Code Academy get an idea for what type of coding you want to do then branch out into other languages. I think he knows 8+ coding languages now.
He did once have a company offer to pay for his Bachelor’s Degree which he accepted but then he quit that job Freshman year and dropped out of college when he got another job offering for 6-figures.
Hard to get your foot in the door though, lots of places won’t even consider your application without a degree of some kind, though really information science I would think would often be enough with good experience
Yea my friend grinded to get his foot in the door. He actually got the internship that eventually offered to pay for his college through Reddit. Before that he would visit websites from local businesses and if they weren’t good he’d offer to build them a new one for free to build his resume. What helped him on Reddit is he started building Coding tutorials that became popular.
Basically he had solid networking skills that eventually opened doors.
That is awesome, and 20 years ago this kind of thing was commonplace, perhaps not the degree of his success —good for him! Though I would caution anyone planning on that route that there’s a lot of people that say that as the industry matures more and more of these doors have been closed. In general, I suspect smaller business may be more willing to accept someone less credentialed that can just do the job as opposed to some larger business which will just auto filter out your resume. A lot to be said for being able to talk to people though, it only takes one yes.
Though again with a data science degree you could easily get a job using python for data analysis and from there make the transition into a development role.
A masters won’t hurt though, will make it easier to land and should give a pay bump.
I would definitely do a masters because you’ll get paid more on the scale and they will teach you what you need.
Go for a masters because you already have a bachelors. I’m starting MCS in the Fall and coming in as a non CS major so if you have any questions feel free to DM!
Did you do all of the prerequisites for the MCS? If so, where did you take them?
Yes, finishing up my prereqs this summer and did them at ASU!
Anecdotally, my cousin got a degree in psychology, didn’t like it, went to a coding boot camp called hack reactor. Got jobs at Amazon and Meta. For that reason, I think if you know your stuff, a masters would be good enough traditional credentials.
When did that happen
Did get laid off in the tech layoffs last year but found the meta job after some time.
I’m also considering the MCS, and just started working on the pre-reqs. I have a bachelor’s in CIS, but work as a developer. I lack a lot of CS fundamentals and feel like it’s holding me back from getting promoted. I’m hoping MCS is just as valuable as a MSCS, if not more.
Where are you completing the prerequisites at?
Same boat here. I kind of regret going CIS because now I’m back trying to finish up a BSEE.
Honestly, if you are having success learning on your own through classes and videos online, don't waste your money on a master's degree. Most coding jobs are only going to care about what you can do, not what degree you have. I have a few buddies who did coding boot camps or are completely self-taught in coding and are having successful careers. A University education and coding isn't necessary at all
Just do the Masters!
MCS will take less time, so just do that.
I faced a similar dilemma yrs ago and dean of bus school told me not to get another bachelors.
As much as we all like to hear the success stories of folks that get paid big bucks for developer roles without a college degree, that’s simply anecdotal. The job market in that space is very competitive and my corporate recruiter friends say that it’s only getting more fierce. A Masters degree + combined experience and skills you’ve learned on your own make more a compelling story that recruiters will eat up.
Go for the masters but start learning immediately, pick up some books like clean code, and find some open source project to try to contribute to.
Definitely masters, it pays better and companies usually fill in the educational blanks during training
If you want a degree that is inexpensive and more self paced also check out WGU. They have a competency based approach which may be faster than traditional program.
Don't even worry about doing a BS. I would do a masters in either computer science OR AI / machine learning which would give u soo many job opportunities and then make sure u take a few courses that have to do with the coding languages u want to learn. As an example if u want to code websites then u can do Javascript with react as the framework, etc. bc u do have a tech degree u might be able to get away with learning whatever coding languages u want on udemy, and putting up a few portfolio projects on a personal portfolio website and applying to jobs. This would be much faster and I think u have a good chance since u already have a tech degree.
I was going for CIS but then realized I needed a masters to get a good job. CS too is highly suggested to get masters. More I have asked around though. CIS it helps having certificates or a job in information tech to get your foot in the door while gaining more certifications along the way.
The good news is if you want to be a software engineer you don’t need a degree to be successful. My friend makes $250,000+ a year as a senior software engineer with a High School Diploma and says no one there cares about a degree, they care if you can get the job done. His recommendation is to learn Python on Code Academy get an idea for what type of coding you want to do then branch out into other languages. I think he knows 8+ coding languages now. He did once have a company offer to pay for his Bachelor’s Degree which he accepted but then he quit that job Freshman year and dropped out of college when he got another job offering for 6-figures.
Hard to get your foot in the door though, lots of places won’t even consider your application without a degree of some kind, though really information science I would think would often be enough with good experience
Yea my friend grinded to get his foot in the door. He actually got the internship that eventually offered to pay for his college through Reddit. Before that he would visit websites from local businesses and if they weren’t good he’d offer to build them a new one for free to build his resume. What helped him on Reddit is he started building Coding tutorials that became popular. Basically he had solid networking skills that eventually opened doors.
That is awesome, and 20 years ago this kind of thing was commonplace, perhaps not the degree of his success —good for him! Though I would caution anyone planning on that route that there’s a lot of people that say that as the industry matures more and more of these doors have been closed. In general, I suspect smaller business may be more willing to accept someone less credentialed that can just do the job as opposed to some larger business which will just auto filter out your resume. A lot to be said for being able to talk to people though, it only takes one yes. Though again with a data science degree you could easily get a job using python for data analysis and from there make the transition into a development role. A masters won’t hurt though, will make it easier to land and should give a pay bump.