Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!pdn!reggie From: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach) Newsgroups: comp.edu Subject: Re: The need for an advanced degree Message-ID: <5278@pdn.UUCP> Date: 5 Jan 89 11:59:07 GMT References: <8901041445.AA20933@decwrl.dec.com> <13178@bellcore.bellcore.com> Reply-To: reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach) Organization: Paradyne Corporation, Largo FL Lines: 86 In article <13178@bellcore.bellcore.com> duncan@geppetto.UUCP (Scott Duncan) writes: >In article <8901041445.AA20933@decwrl.dec.com> ciarfella@levers.dec.com (Paul Ciarfella) writes: >> >> What advantages do 2 years in grad school have over 2 years in >>industry? > >Depends on the company you wish to work for. Some companies like the degree >as a hiring criteria (but may, for a very talented graduate, help pay for >the Master's Degree); others find the experience more relevant to what the >company is producing. For some companies a graduate degree may be a prerequisite for moving into a senior level technical position some day. >If you want to do R&D, then the degree may mean a good deal since the work on >a Master's project/thesis may show something of your independent study/work >skill on less than well-defined problems. If you're into development of pro- >ducts, then the demonstrated success at doing that in a specific environment >(OS, language, etc.) will matter most to those who want *that particular* ex- >perience. A Masters Thesis/Project can also give you some valuable experience in all phases of a programming project. This will help those who have only been involved in large projects in a small role in industry. It can also show initiative on the part of the employee. Too many folks are happy with a BS and stop learning the day they receive the piece of paper. >> For the people who went back to school after working a few years, >>did you feel that your work experience and knowledge gained from working >>gave you an advantage over students who went straight from undergrad to >>grad school? When you got back to work, was the experience beneficial to >>your career? Did it give you an advantage over your fellow engineers who >>did not have advanced degrees? >I have never gone back, so these questions aren't something I can speak to, >but they are of interest to me, as well, in terms of advising others whom I >might meet. Well I'll take a stab at it, Scott. I went back after being in industry for three years or so. However, I went back part time and I was not ready for it. I spent a couple of semesters registering for classes only to drop them after a few weeks into the semester! The reason I went back was because I saw others around me doing so and I did not want to put myself at a disadvantage. Only after I got serious about going back and I decided to go back for the right reason (to learn, not to get the piece of paper) did I get past a course and eventually finish. BTW: The people that I worked with who went back and prompted me to return before I was ready, never finished. My past experiences at AT&T and then Bellcore showed me that the graduate degree is indeed valuable. Within AT&T, prior to divestiture, I worked for Western Electric. Most programmers either had a BS or an undergraduate degree in some other field, or even no degree at all! At Bellcore, almost everyone at the MTS level had an MS. So for one it was a necesity and for the other it was something that set you apart from the pack. Scott's comments about it depending upon the company you work for are right on the money. In one context, the MS is quite valuable while in the other to not have one puts you at a disadvantage. In either case it was beneficial to get the degree. Furthermore, if you are interested in continuing to learn and advance your knowledge in CS get the degree. If a company does not want to hire you because of it, then it is not the type of company that you want to work for anyway. I do feel that having some industry experience before returning to school was valuable. And I feel that my MS program helped me at work as well. -- George W. Leach Paradyne Corporation ..!uunet!pdn!reggie Mail stop LG-129 Phone: (813) 530-2376 P.O. Box 2826 Largo, FL USA 34649-2826