4 Reasons to Get a Postgraduate Degree in Computer Science

In the generally meritocratic world of IT, a postgraduate degree isn’t mandatory to move up in the business or make more money. Obtaining industry certifications, displaying teamwork, leadership skills and developing amazing products can put you on the fast track to professional growth without spending thousands on a masters or MBA.

So, when do tech professionals need a postgraduate degree? Well, you don't necessarily need one.

"Exceptional productive developers don't churn out more code, but simply have the experience and knowledge to know what and what not to build. They understand the business and want their technology to have a dramatic impact on that business," says Flo Motlik, CTO and cofounder of Codeship. "Those are skills that aren't taught at universities."

A master’s degree can, however, accelerate your career.

"To be great and very productive team members, some fields with a very high level of sophistication tend to be better suited by going through a post-grad program," Motlik adds.

It just depends on where you’ve been and where you want to go:

1.You Don’t Have an Undergrad in CS

Yes, there are a countless MOOCs that offer free online courses to help you hit the ground running.

Practically speaking, unless you’re incredibly naturally self-motivated, getting through the really tough, sticky problems is immeasurably harder when you have little to no guidance.

Another crucial perk of having a masters if you don’t have an undergrad degree in CS: It’s a lot easier to make it through recruiters and HR professionals with a legitimate CS master’s degree, especially because non-technical folks will have a tough time deciphering how well you’re self-taught.

Most MS degrees don’t require you to have a technical background.

2. You Have Limited Experience and Connections

Piggybacking on No. 1, a lot of times, can be hard to find a job if you don’t have much experience or connections. If you’re one of the few who have taken up coding as a hobby, you’ll need someone to vouch for your work.

Otherwise, you’re competing with the other thousands of applicants with a CS degree who have submitted a resume through a portal. When you go to get your masters, you’ll also make connections with folks who are soon-to-be fulltime tech professionals at great companies. And, chances are, many of them will be in leadership positions, given their higher degree. It’s a perfect “in” into software engineering, QA, data science, etc.

3. You Want to Go Deep into Theoretical Research

Jameson Quave has been working in the software industry for many years.

“Much of professional programming involves making practical software under time constraints, which is something that's not often taught as part CS degree programs,” Quave says, who has written his own book on Swift, Apple’s new programming language.

“Ultimately these degrees are only important right now for people who want to teach, or want to go deep in to the academic research areas of computer science.” Theory, systems and artificial intelligence are a few of the core areas that many master’s of computer science programs cover, according to the US News and World Report directory.

"Artificial Intelligence, for example, has many theoretical challenges where a postgraduate degree can give the space to deep dive into them," Motlik says. "While it's absolutely possible to do this on the job, the focus a post-graduate degree provides can speed this up quite a bit."

The most common reason why a postgraduate degree might appear under “job requirement” is if the job calls for a strong leadership role. Stanford Engineering, for instance, offers a joint CS MS/MBA degree program for folks who want to become managers or entrepreneurs in technology businesses.

4. You Have a Natural Intellectual Curiosity (Bored at Work)

If you’re already killing it at work, but bored out of your mind, ask your company to fund a postgraduate degree. It’s a great way to open your eyes to new arenas of software development and high technology.

Companies have a great incentive to send you to get your masters: They’re investing in you to learn deeper knowledge and apply it back to the company. It’s a retention tool for your boss and a great way to accelerate your career or move into a different specialty.

Top Rated Graduate Schools for Masters of Computer Science*

1. Carnegie Mellon University
2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3. Stanford University
4. University of California-Berkeley
5. University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign

 

*Based on rankings from the US News and World Report.