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mycsphd.org except we stan master’s degree
Graduate school is a scary thing. You’ve probably spent a few years at UCSD by now, and you want to do even more? How horrifying! However, people don’t just go into a master’s or PhD for no reason. There are many good reasons to pursue an even higher education, as well as many less good reasons.
So what does it even mean. Typically, graduate programs are meant for students to continue their studies and specialize. What this means depends on the program, but it usually entails picking a specific topic/field and taking classes tailored to it and/or doing research. Specifically at UCSD, the CSE and ECE department both offer Master’s degrees and PhDs with specializations. However, other departments, like the Cognitive Science department, only offer PhDs. Looking around at other universities around the country, things also vary in naming and methodologies, offering Masters of Sciences, Masters of Arts, and other fun titles.
In the grand scheme of things, you’ll be taking graduate level classes (which often require more paper reading and projects), sometimes research (the CSE master’s offers a “research free” option), and sometimes an examination to prove that you’re qualified for the role (although these are sometimes included in the classes you’re expected to take).
Computer Science and the other related fields often boast the fact that their bachelor degree holders are often able to get good jobs straight out of graduation. Similarly, those who succeed in boot-camps and self-training are also able to find employment. So let’s be greedy and ask what a graduate degree gives in terms of straight benefits.
The first and often most important benefit comes in pay. Those with higher education degrees will often be payed more than their BS counterparts. While you may initially lose in terms of opportunity cost of immediately getting a job or the additional debt of more school, in the long term, a higher education in computing will make up for these losses.
A second reason typically revolves around opportunity: if two candidates for a position are equal in everything but their education, a higher education often wins out in the job market.
Lastly comes from available positions and freedom to pick more roles. Certain jobs, such as those in machine learning, require higher levels of education as a minimum requirement.
Not all programs are the same, so we are going to base this on UCSD’s various MS and PhD programs.
Generally, a masters degree (MS) is a 1-2 year degree that is mainly focused on taking classes and secondarily focused on research.
A PhD is the opposite, focusing more on research with classes being the secondary concern.
This is a very personal and difficult question. Often, the answer is maybe, and it’s up to you to decide. That’s not a very satisfying answer, so we can go over some basic questions that can help you decide.