9/24/2019 Cornell Cs Ms
Far above Cayuga's waters,with its waves of blue,Stands our noble Alma Mater,glorious to view.Lift the chorus, speed it onward,loud her praises tell;Hail to thee our Alma Mater!Hail, all hail, Cornell!Questions? Check out the!Rules. Posts should be somehow relevant to Cornell or the Cornell community. NO SPAM/ADs - If you are advertising for a Cornell-related event, please check with the mods first. Be nice - antagonistic and/or offensive comments or posts will be removed at the discretion of the mods. You are free to appeal these decisions with the mods.
Search the subreddit to see if your question has already been asked recently before posting it. Do not post personal/identifying information about yourself or anyone else (this does not apply in the case of questions about professors). ALL ADMISSIONS-RELATED POSTS GO IN THE MEGATHREAD. Any posts outside of the megathread will be removed. Posts and comments will be removed (and users can be banned) at the discretion of the moderators.Important/Useful Links:The Ivy League.see also:. I got into Columbia's MS CS and Cornell's CS Meng programs and am having trouble deciding between the two. Money isn't a consideration for me.
Cornell Engineering is the highest-rated engineering school in the Ivy League. We offer 14 undergraduate majors and 15 graduate majors Our engineers have been making the world a better place for more than 150 years.
Is one program more selective? Is a MS more attractive to employers than a MEng? Which program is stronger for AI/ML/NLP (from looking at past course listings, it looks like Cornell has a more diverse CS course listing while Columbia has more courses focused on ML and NLP)? I'd appreciate your thoughts. Thanks in advance!Also, I recently saw a post on here that had a very unflattering view of CS MEng students.
Is this a common perception here that the MEng students are looked down upon?Background: I'm American and I got into Cornell for undergrad, but my finances weren't as good back then and I went to a lower-ranked school that gave me more scholarships. I've gotten/done a couple internships at Big 4 tech companies doing software dev work, but I want to get a Master's so I have the background to apply for positions such as applied scientist or research software engineer.
Hate to break it to you but unless you can't find a job out of undergrad, a masters is pretty useless if you want to go into industry. You're missing out on a year of relatively high income and paying for the degree. The pay difference coming out isn't that big and the bachelor's only engineer can catch up quickly. You're also not learning anything that would really give you a leg up.To get a research scientist position, you'll need to go all the way to PhD.Source: Am an engineering manager at a large tech company.
Question: Is this also true for non-CS majors? I am a computational biology major looking to get into CS because I find it a ton more interesting than biology and medicine.
I will have CS 2110, CS 3110, CS 3410, and maybe CS 5150 by the time I graduate. I will not have projects, but I will have computational biology experience. Do you think it is worth it get a Masters? If I get a Masters, I will likely get project and internship experience during the summers, so I feel like I would be more competitive, but what do you think?Edit: I am also interested in doing computational biology, tbh, I would take whatever pays more. Mastery of CS2110 is really all you need to pass a general coding interview. The rest is up to experience. If you're really motivated, you can work on projects on your own and get the internships.
If you know you want to do CS already, start moving in that direction as quickly as possible. I was actually ECE in school and did hardware for a few years before deciding to switch. Almost got a masters until I found a company that took a risk on my relative lack of professional software industry experience. Would have been easier if I realized this was what I wanted to do while in school. The more complex topics are surely interesting to learn, but unless you're going to get a job specializing in those, they're not going to make or break you. I've never taken classes on operating systems, networks, databases, much less ML and AI.
I've done quite well in the software industry because I understand the fundamentals which allows me to quickly learn any new technologies. This is probably the most important skill to be successful.Regarding salary, take this example comparing bachelors only vs masters:Bachelors gradYear 1: +$100,000 (let's assume Silicon Valley top company)Year 2: +$105,000 (they performed well, 5% raise)Total: $205,000Masters gradYear 1: -$50,000 (random guess at cost of masters these days)Year 2: +$115,000 (starts at 15% higher for masters, which is pretty generous tbh)Total: $65,000How many years will it take the masters grad to break even, if ever?. Thanks for your response! Yeah, I've had many people telling me that I should just go work at a big company. Financially speaking, I definitely agree that getting a Master's isn't the ideal choice. However, I do feel that getting a masters would help me break into a career that's a little more interesting than the regular software engineering offers I had. I realize that pure research at tech companies require PhD's, but the positions I've referred to are a mixture of software engineering and research, and only require a Masters.
Anecdotally, I have a couple friends who have these positions at large tech companies with only a Masters. Therefore, I feel it's reasonable to get a formal education in ML/NLP topics (as I didn't really study these much in undergrad) to allow me to potentially get a more interesting/enjoyable job. On that note, don't discount working a few years and then doing your master's. I actually worked for CU for a few years after graduating and then got my master's paid for by the university. Many other companies will pay for doing your Master's part time while you continue working full time too.
It worked well for me! Just make sure you understand your obligation to where you work if you do that. In CU's case, I had zero obligation to continue working for the university after completing it.
Regardless of the school, pursue an MS if you plan on eventually getting a PhD. You could do an M.Eng first instead but if you want a doctorate it’s more of an uphill climb.If you want to go the M.Eng route, you should probably spend some time in industry first. That way you’ll have real experience and an idea of what you may want to specialize in. Maybe it’s machine learning, or robotics, or parallel/distributed systems, or what have you. I certainly didn’t know what I wanted to specialize in when I graduated from undergrad and I’m grateful I worked a few years before enrolling for a masters.As you can tell by my flair, I went the latter route.
Although since I work for Cornell, they’re paying for my degree so I don’t have to weigh the opportunity cost of paying for it myself. Likewise, you can probably get a (non-academic) employer to pay for a master’s degree once you’re in for a little while.Regarding the perception that an M.Eng is “looked down upon”, it’s worth noting that experience means a lot more than education in the software industry. Somebody with a masters and near zero experience looks less attractive than someone with a bachelors and years of paid work in the field. Thanks for your input. I kinda committed to grad school by turning down some pretty solid full-time offers and lined up another internship for the summer.
I'm pretty clear in the direction I want to head in, and I want to just get all my schooling done in one go, so it's ok. I understand and agree with your assessment of a good software engineer, but I was referring to my potential experience at Cornell rather than industry when I said 'looked down upon.' I don't think I'll go for a PhD because it's too many years of commitment.
Far above Cayuga's waters,with its waves of blue,Stands our noble Alma Mater,glorious to view.Lift the chorus, speed it onward,loud her praises tell;Hail to thee our Alma Mater!Hail, all hail, Cornell!Questions? Check out the!Rules. Posts should be somehow relevant to Cornell or the Cornell community. NO SPAM/ADs - If you are advertising for a Cornell-related event, please check with the mods first. Be nice - antagonistic and/or offensive comments or posts will be removed at the discretion of the mods. You are free to appeal these decisions with the mods. Search the subreddit to see if your question has already been asked recently before posting it.
Do not post personal/identifying information about yourself or anyone else (this does not apply in the case of questions about professors). ALL ADMISSIONS-RELATED POSTS GO IN THE MEGATHREAD. Any posts outside of the megathread will be removed. Posts and comments will be removed (and users can be banned) at the discretion of the moderators.Important/Useful Links:The Ivy League.see also:.
I got into Columbia's MS CS and Cornell's CS Meng programs and am having trouble deciding between the two. Money isn't a consideration for me.
Is one program more selective? Is a MS more attractive to employers than a MEng? Which program is stronger for AI/ML/NLP (from looking at past course listings, it looks like Cornell has a more diverse CS course listing while Columbia has more courses focused on ML and NLP)? I'd appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks in advance!Also, I recently saw a post on here that had a very unflattering view of CS MEng students. Is this a common perception here that the MEng students are looked down upon?Background: I'm American and I got into Cornell for undergrad, but my finances weren't as good back then and I went to a lower-ranked school that gave me more scholarships. I've gotten/done a couple internships at Big 4 tech companies doing software dev work, but I want to get a Master's so I have the background to apply for positions such as applied scientist or research software engineer. Hate to break it to you but unless you can't find a job out of undergrad, a masters is pretty useless if you want to go into industry. You're missing out on a year of relatively high income and paying for the degree.
The pay difference coming out isn't that big and the bachelor's only engineer can catch up quickly. You're also not learning anything that would really give you a leg up.To get a research scientist position, you'll need to go all the way to PhD.Source: Am an engineering manager at a large tech company. Question: Is this also true for non-CS majors? I am a computational biology major looking to get into CS because I find it a ton more interesting than biology and medicine. I will have CS 2110, CS 3110, CS 3410, and maybe CS 5150 by the time I graduate. I will not have projects, but I will have computational biology experience. Do you think it is worth it get a Masters?
If I get a Masters, I will likely get project and internship experience during the summers, so I feel like I would be more competitive, but what do you think?Edit: I am also interested in doing computational biology, tbh, I would take whatever pays more. Mastery of CS2110 is really all you need to pass a general coding interview. The rest is up to experience.
If you're really motivated, you can work on projects on your own and get the internships. If you know you want to do CS already, start moving in that direction as quickly as possible. I was actually ECE in school and did hardware for a few years before deciding to switch.
Almost got a masters until I found a company that took a risk on my relative lack of professional software industry experience. Would have been easier if I realized this was what I wanted to do while in school. The more complex topics are surely interesting to learn, but unless you're going to get a job specializing in those, they're not going to make or break you.
I've never taken classes on operating systems, networks, databases, much less ML and AI. I've done quite well in the software industry because I understand the fundamentals which allows me to quickly learn any new technologies. This is probably the most important skill to be successful.Regarding salary, take this example comparing bachelors only vs masters:Bachelors gradYear 1: +$100,000 (let's assume Silicon Valley top company)Year 2: +$105,000 (they performed well, 5% raise)Total: $205,000Masters gradYear 1: -$50,000 (random guess at cost of masters these days)Year 2: +$115,000 (starts at 15% higher for masters, which is pretty generous tbh)Total: $65,000How many years will it take the masters grad to break even, if ever?. Thanks for your response! Yeah, I've had many people telling me that I should just go work at a big company. Financially speaking, I definitely agree that getting a Master's isn't the ideal choice.
However, I do feel that getting a masters would help me break into a career that's a little more interesting than the regular software engineering offers I had. I realize that pure research at tech companies require PhD's, but the positions I've referred to are a mixture of software engineering and research, and only require a Masters. Anecdotally, I have a couple friends who have these positions at large tech companies with only a Masters.
Therefore, I feel it's reasonable to get a formal education in ML/NLP topics (as I didn't really study these much in undergrad) to allow me to potentially get a more interesting/enjoyable job. On that note, don't discount working a few years and then doing your master's. I actually worked for CU for a few years after graduating and then got my master's paid for by the university. Many other companies will pay for doing your Master's part time while you continue working full time too. It worked well for me! Just make sure you understand your obligation to where you work if you do that. In CU's case, I had zero obligation to continue working for the university after completing it.
Regardless of the school, pursue an MS if you plan on eventually getting a PhD. You could do an M.Eng first instead but if you want a doctorate it’s more of an uphill climb.If you want to go the M.Eng route, you should probably spend some time in industry first. That way you’ll have real experience and an idea of what you may want to specialize in. Maybe it’s machine learning, or robotics, or parallel/distributed systems, or what have you. I certainly didn’t know what I wanted to specialize in when I graduated from undergrad and I’m grateful I worked a few years before enrolling for a masters.As you can tell by my flair, I went the latter route.
Although since I work for Cornell, they’re paying for my degree so I don’t have to weigh the opportunity cost of paying for it myself. Likewise, you can probably get a (non-academic) employer to pay for a master’s degree once you’re in for a little while.Regarding the perception that an M.Eng is “looked down upon”, it’s worth noting that experience means a lot more than education in the software industry. Somebody with a masters and near zero experience looks less attractive than someone with a bachelors and years of paid work in the field. Thanks for your input. I kinda committed to grad school by turning down some pretty solid full-time offers and lined up another internship for the summer. I'm pretty clear in the direction I want to head in, and I want to just get all my schooling done in one go, so it's ok. I understand and agree with your assessment of a good software engineer, but I was referring to my potential experience at Cornell rather than industry when I said 'looked down upon.'
I don't think I'll go for a PhD because it's too many years of commitment.
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