Distance/Remote Masters in Computer Science while working before PhD

[Emergo]

Hi all, I just finished my undergrad degree in CS. I did reasonably well and would like to pursue a PhD at some point in the next 6 years, however I am not ready to do so immediately. I have taken a job as a software engineer and intend to work there for a year or two to save up some money.

I am at a bit of a crossroads here. If my eventual goal is to pursue a PhD, should I just focus on my job now, and then leverage that experience to get into a decent masters program, complete some research/a thesis, and apply for the PhD? The other alternative is to complete an online masters in CS from Georgia Tech or similar while I work, then apply for the PhD and quit my job.

I am concerned that the online masters will not be respected/give me enough exposure or connections/give me a rigorous enough platform to conduct research that would be meaningful to any PhD program, but I have to say it would be great to get this completed while working for free, then turn to the PhD.

Anyone have any advice here?

Thanks!

 

[Choppy]

One thing that sticks out as a concern with pursuing an online master's degree while starting to work full time is that's going to be a massive time commitment.

How long have you been working at this job? What kind of learning curves do you have to climb and how long will those take? What other responsibilities do you have outside of work? Further, what realistically is the time commitment on a daily basis to getting through a master's degree in a reasonable time frame?

It's one thing if you've been doing the job for a year or more, are comfortable with what's required of you and can easily fit several hours per day into your schedule for your studies. It's another if you're just starting. Your full time job will generally require 8 hours of your time every day... even more when you factor in commuting, unpaid lunch, etc. If you're in front of a computer for most of that time, and then have to go home and do coursework behind another computer for four hours, that won't leave a lot of room for taking care of yourself (sleep, exercise, eating properly, socialization, constructive down time etc.), and can potentially lead to burn out. And what happens if you get sick or something doesn't go according to plan?

I'm not saying it's impossible. There are lots of examples of people who do it successfully. Just think hard about the commitments you're making.

 

[Vanadium 50]

What country are you in?

 

[gwnorth]

And in what country do you hope to pursue your PhD?

 

[Emergo]

What country are you in?

USA

 

[Emergo]

And in what country do you hope to pursue your PhD?

Also USA

 

[Emergo]

One thing that sticks out as a concern with pursuing an online master's degree while starting to work full time is that's going to be a massive time commitment.

How long have you been working at this job? What kind of learning curves do you have to climb and how long will those take? What other responsibilities do you have outside of work? Further, what realistically is the time commitment on a daily basis to getting through a master's degree in a reasonable time frame?

It's one thing if you've been doing the job for a year or more, are comfortable with what's required of you and can easily fit several hours per day into your schedule for your studies. It's another if you're just starting. Your full time job will generally require 8 hours of your time every day... even more when you factor in commuting, unpaid lunch, etc. If you're in front of a computer for most of that time, and then have to go home and do coursework behind another computer for four hours, that won't leave a lot of room for taking care of yourself (sleep, exercise, eating properly, socialization, constructive down time etc.), and can potentially lead to burn out. And what happens if you get sick or something doesn't go according to plan?

I'm not saying it's impossible. There are lots of examples of people who do it successfully. Just think hard about the commitments you're making.

Great points. The course of action I plan to take is as follows: Take the job, hold off on any masters program, remote or otherwise, apply for admission as a non-degree student at a large nearby university. Take courses online or in the evening which meet two days a week, slowly, one at a time, while working, in areas I would like to improve upon and shore up before my grad school application (mostly math).

Sit for the GRE and then seek to apply for Fall 2024 M.S. at an in-person full-time program with thesis.

I totally agree, a masters and full-time job would be far too much. I do think I could manage one undergrad math course a semester during my time working there, and this would better set me up for my application.

 

[Vanadium 50]

One problem with this plan is that many universities have a time limit on coursework for the PhD. For my graduate school it was something like ten years - if you took a course more than ten years ago, it didn't count towards your PhD. Every place has its own rules, but you really should look into this before deciding on this path.

 

[gwnorth]

And in what country do you hope to pursue your PhD?

Also USA

Then why are you wanting to do a Master's degree first? For the most part if you're planning to do a PhD in the US, doing a Master's first is a poor proposition. Most PhD programs are integrated so if you do a standalone Master's first you're most likely to end up repeating at least some of the requirements of the Master's as part of your PhD. You are unlikely to get full credit for the previously completed Master's applied towards a PhD (but you should definitely research that).

 

[YoshiMoshi]

I did my Masters degree part time, one class at a time, while working in industry full time. I don't regret it one bit. It took me 5 years though. Going to graduate school full time wasn't an option. Only one class at a time was all that I could afford.