Online Masters in Computer Science

In the last few months, I’ve intermittently thought about getting an Online Masters in Computer Science. And then wasted a few days mulling over it.

Here are a few reasons why I think about it.

• Go deeper into CS in a more structured manner.
  • The OMSCS program from Georgia Tech seems best for this: it’s both cheap and reputed. However, people also say online that it’s rigorous and it’ll require dedicated time every week. So, instead of signing up for something like that, a better approach would be to rigorously study something on my own. For e.g., I could take a goal to read up two books on Artificial Intelligence this quarter.
  • They take so many students that I won’t be guaranteed to get into the classes I want in every semester.
  • I am part of an industry that hardly cares about credentials. (In fact, many self-taught programmers are able to make it big.) So, such a degree won’t help me in any professional way.
• Get a degree for the sake of it. If so, there are two ways of going about it:
  • Find a shitty college that doesn’t have a high bar in handing out degrees. (The college doesn’t necessarily need to be in the US.)
  • Pursue a degree from some other field, such as quantum physics or arts. That would be more fun and challenging.

I am going to drop this idea for now. And focus the little time I get away from work and parenting to studying Artificial Intelligence. I should probably take a goal of finishing the D2L book and Hands on Machine Learning this quarter.