Ask HN: Do I do my masters in CS if it means staying an extra semester? I can finish a "masters" (no thesis) in 2.5 years (as opposed to the 2 years I have left). I would only do it if the master would earn me more money quickly enough to justify the cost of another semester of tuition (~28k). Thoughts? |
But there are a couple of considerations:
Do you have a specific area for your thesis topic and research? One which you are : (1) very interested in; and (2) you have identified several potential employers as requiring that skill.
If you don't have any solid answers to this question, then perhaps you need to get in touch with potential employers.
Your thesis advisor needs to be somebody who is well acquainted with what is in demand in industry. Most advisors are career academics and are more likely to pump for topics which are "lucrative" in academia but almost certainly not relevant to industry.
If you can drum up enough interest with a potential employer, then perhaps they will intern you to do the research for them and possibly pay some of the tuition costs. I did this twice, once for a honours thesis and then for a masters thesis. Mind you I did both on a part-time basis and was already employed.