Is it Worth It?

I am currently enrolled in the Master’s program in Computer Science a Georgia Tech (OSMCS) specialing in AI/Machine Learning. I am in the process of deciding whether or not to continue with the program. I have been thinking about this question for the past 2 months after a very challenging course that consumed all of my free time, leaving me no time to develop my professional skills. I am still enrolled in the program but am going to discuss the tradeoffs of a Masters in Computer Science below

The Opportunity Cost

The biggest opportunity cost with a Masters in CS is the time you spend that is time you could have spent working on a side-project, studying for interviews, building a business or even just spending time with loved ones. I took the Machine Learning course last semester and while I learned a ton that I might not have otherwise learned on my own, a lot of that time I felt more like I was chasing the A for my letter grade than actually learning stuff that will benefit my career. I was spending 20-30 hours a week on this class. That is a massive time investment. On top of this I was working full-time. Betweeen work, school and context-switching between the two I had no time or mental energy left to work on anything else. The class was great, but not perfect. I learned a ton and built a few cool ML projects but due to academic integrity rules I can not publicly post these on Github so I can not even show my prospective employers what I built or what I learned. The class required 3 large ML projects with a written report for each of them setup to mimic real scientific papers in the field. The class was geared more towards theoretical learning than stuff that would be applied in the workspace. It felt similar to my Bachelors in CS. When I graduated and got my first job very little of what I learned in school was applicable to my job.

I also was burnt out by the end of the class. As soon as I finished the final exam it felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders. My sleep (which I track through the Oura ring) started to improve immensely. I immediately felt like I had so much free time, I started working on side projects that I have been putting off, resumed my data structures and algorithms studies and in general felt much healthier. I had my weekends back and noticed an uptick in my productivity, especially at work. I am not saying I was performing bad at work but I just wasn’t performing my best and this is something that most people seem to experience from what I gathered reading through the Slack channel.

Another possible opportunity cost is money. Most MS degrees cost tens of thousands of dollars. OMSCS cost about $7k in total so I did not see this as an opportunity cost for my specific scenario. Also, a lot of work places are willing to cover 100% of the tuition for employees that want to pursue a Masters. My workplace is one of those. Knowing what I know now, if the degree were not so cheap I would definitely not pursue it as I don’t think it would be worth taking on $30-60k of debt. If you calculate the 100s-1000s of hours you spend on the degree and the cost of the degree you are looking at a very high opportunity cost. It will be hard to justify the cost of the degree even if you get a bit a pay raise. At this point I think it would be smarter to build side projects and learn on your own. You will save the money and the a lot of time that would be spent on pursuing good grades or learning about topics that you will not apply in the future.

The Pros

You will have a graduate degree that will most likely make you more valuable to companies
You will learn a lot of new stuff that you might not learn on your own
You will have a network of people that you can reach out to for help or advice
You will have a better understanding of the research process and how to conduct research
You will have a better understanding of the academic process and how to write papers
You will have a better understanding of the theoretical foundations of computer science

The Cons

The time investment is most likely going to be massive (but this might vary significantly depending what school you go to and what specialization you pick)
The money investment may be massive depending on what school you go to
You have a much higher risk of burning yourself out
You will have less time to work on side projects or build a business or spend time with loved ones
You will have less time to work on your own learning and development

Is a Master’s Right for You?

This is an extremely important question you need to ask yourself if you are considering it. You need to understand the tradeoffs. A Masters is a huge time commitment and to be honest I underestimated how much of a time commitment it would be. There is also a good chance that it may not even help you in future career prospects. I have it listed on my resume and not once have I ever been asked about it in interviews so I have no idea if they are even taking it into consideration.

If you are looking to become a researcher or get into academia I think a Masters is a great idea. If you are looking to just be an engineer and make yourself more marketable your time is most likely spent elsewhere. I think real-world experience is much more valuable than a formal education. While you need a formal education to get your foot in the door, once your in the field it seems to have diminishing returns. From my anecdotal experience, companies seem to prefer professional experience and your portfolio over your academic history. They want to see the work you’ve done and with school you most likely can not display your work due to academic honesty rules.

TLDR

A Masters is a huge time commitment and you need to weigh the opportunity costs of pursuing one
You will not have much time for anything else
It might be smarter to use your time learning on your own and building up your portfolio
You risk burning yourself out
You need to consider the time you spend on the degree as actual money spent since you could have been doing something else that generates money or focusing on something else that is more likely to eventually make you more money

Conclusion

In weighing the value of a Master’s in Computer Science, it’s clear that the decision is deeply personal and depends on individual goals and circumstances. While the program offers significant learning opportunities and potential career benefits, it’s important to consider the substantial time and energy required. For me, the journey has been both challenging and enlightening, prompting a reevaluation of how best to align my education with my professional aspirations. If you’re contemplating this path, reflect on what you hope to achieve and how you learn best. Whether through formal education or alternative routes, the most important thing is to keep growing and stay passionate about your craft.