Engineering Job experience or pursue a Master (Computer Vision)?

[ramzerimar]

I intend to finish my bachelor in Computer Science 3 years from now, by which time I will be 24 years old. I'm very interested in technology and cutting edge fields like Computer Vision/Machine Learning, and I would like to work with something like that in the future. Not necessarily with research (that's more for PhD's), but on some engineering team working with that in some tech company (like those companies researching self driving cars: NVIDIA, Google, etc...).

I know that experience counts far more than a degree in the field of software engineering/programming, but I know that you need at least a Master's for most computer vision roles in industry. I'm a little bit worried, though, because I would be 26 if I go straight out to a Master's after finishing my B.S, and without any industry experience.

Do you think that I should try to work and get some real experience in the field (even if it's not directly related to the topics that I'm most interested in) before applying for a M.S program, or should I go straight for it?

 

[Choppy]

Well if your goal is a research position that requires at least a master's degree, it would seem you're going to have to get that master's degree sooner or later. I would expect that in areas like that, a lot of value would be placed on the project that you do for your MSc research and that would compensate for any lack of job experience.

Don't worry about your age. No one is going to care.