Master's in Comp Sci without Comp Sci undergrad?

Mosaic3

Hey guys,

I recently was accepted into the OMSCS Master's Degree program at Ga Tech, which is great, because it is a very sought after program right now. However, my undergrad was MIS and I've spent the majority of my professional career (~8 years) in a sys admin / engineer type role. That being the case, I have a very limited programming background with only cursory experience in a few languages.
So I'm kind of torn at the moment, part of me wants to give it a go and maybe take one course at a time, while learning the programming on the fly. While, another part of me thinks that I might be fighting a losing battle and wasting time and money.
Any thoughts on how I should proceed?
Thanks

philz1982

You have to know yourself. How do you learn, do you pickup technology intuitively or with a struggle? In the past when you tried to code was it easy or hard? Be honest with yourself everyone elses opinion is based on how they learn. Only you know your experience and learning style. Also do you have the bandwidth to apply yourself to learning the program and coding?

On a side note the program may have prep classes that you can take. You really need to know assembly, a compiled language C, Java and a non compiled like Python. That will cover embedded systems, server side, and client side code.

A course in each would give you a solid theoretical base.

Archon

What do you hope to achieve career wise once you have graduated with a masters?

You could ask the course leader what languages you will require to know and start learning them before you start.

stryder144

Here is a link to Google's Google for Education page. On the lower right hand side, you will find resources for learning C++ and Python. Might I suggest giving them a go, see if you like them, and thus can better judge whether this degree program is for you. At least one of the courses in the program strongly recommends a knowledge of Java. As such, you might want to peruse this selection of free Java development books.

Another resource is edX. They have a programming course, through MITx, that uses Python (6.00.1x). Harvardx has a course, CS50x, that includes C, PHP, JavaScript, SQL, CSS and HTML. Honestly, I think if you took both of those courses you'd have a great overview of what you might need to know and they might just give you a boost in your confidence. There is a Java course starting in April, but I don't know if waiting for that course would mess things up for your enrollment in the GA Tech program.

Good luck and keep us posted!

jdancer

Do you have any courses in computer architecture, algorithm analysis (O-notation), data structures, operating systems theory, compiler design? These are just of a few undergrad CS courses which are usually taken. Since I went to school in the dinosaur age, I'm sure they added more core courses since then.

kly630

I did a master's in comp sci myself with just a undergrad in math, but my program made us take some of these upper level undergrad courses as pre-reqs before we could move on in the program. Data structures and algorithm analysis, computer architecture, databases, networking, and software engineering were the five they chose. I personally think Operating systems should've been added to that list.

Data structures/algorithm analysis was a combined course and I think is the most critical because it really is fundamental to most other CS subjects, especially the areas where people are actively researching. After that, I'd say the computer architecture courses were pretty useful just to understand what actually happens when a computer is running. Software engineering was also helpful as it pretty much broke down the process of designing/handling a software project.

If you have anything like experience in these 3 courses, combined with experience programming in a language like c++ or java, you'll probably be fine. If not, really target getting that data structures course in as the very first thing you do.

Mosaic3

Archon wrote: »

What do you hope to achieve career wise once you have graduated with a masters?

You could ask the course leader what languages you will require to know and start learning them before you start.

I'm currently systems admin with some sys engineer duties blended in and I'd like to continue on that trajectory. My work is paying for a nice portion of the degree, so that is part of the motivation. I've been trying to brush up on C through "Learn C the Hard Way" and Python through Codecademy.

Danielm7

As a systems admin/engineer who wants to keep going that way why go for CS? Maybe find another MS program that would be more helpful for your role?

Mosaic3

Danielm7 wrote: »

As a systems admin/engineer who wants to keep going that way why go for CS? Maybe find another MS program that would be more helpful for your role?

Good point, and that has crossed my mind, trust me. But, with both the low cost of the program (~$150 per credit) along with it's stature, I figured that I had to at least give it a look.

iBrokeIT

Other than being resume eye candy and cheap, what skills are you hoping to get out of this that will help you in future endeavors?

On the surface it sounds like you just found a link to a cheap, reputable MS program and are now trying to find a way to justify going by trying to figure out how it would benefit your career... which is backwards in my mind.

Personally, I think if you want to go the CS route you would be better served by getting a proper foundation in it rather than just skipping straight to a Master's. Start with a BS in CS or spend some time writing A LOT of code but also realize there is more to CS than just plugging code into a compiler.

I think you need to determine what direction you want to take your career then decide which MS degrees align with that vision. If you want to get into DevOps, you absolutely CS is the way the go but if not I would question value of it over something else.

TDS

That's a very prestigious program. I would be shocked if they aren't having you take plenty of prereqs.

Mosaic3

iBrokeIT wrote: »

Other than being resume eye candy and cheap, what skills are you hoping to get out of this that will help you in future endeavors?

On the surface it sounds like you just found a link to a cheap, reputable MS program and are now trying to find a way to justify going by trying to figure out how it would benefit your career... which is backwards in my mind.

Personally, I think if you want to go the CS route you would be better served by getting a proper foundation in it rather than just skipping straight to a Master's. Start with a BS in CS or spend some time writing A LOT of code but also realize there is more to CS than just plugging code into a compiler.

I think you need to determine what direction you want to take your career then decide which MS degrees align with that vision. If you want to get into DevOps, you absolutely CS is the way the go but if not I would question value of it over something else.

Eventually migrating to a DevOps type roll is definitely something I'd be interested in, but also not a game-changer. Many of Comp Sci concepts do interest me, so it wouldn't just be fodder. But at the same time, interest doesn't necessarily equivocate me being able to do the work.

stryder144

What will your specialization be, if you don't mind me asking?

Mosaic3

TDS wrote: »

That's a very prestigious program. I would be shocked if they aren't having you take plenty of prereqs.

No prereqs required at all, my undergrad metrics were great and I have a good deal of industry experience.

stryder144 wrote: »

What will your specialization be, if you don't mind me asking?

No, not at all. I'm leaning towards the systems specialization, but quite a few of them interest me, social computing being another.

--chris--

I would contact the school to see if you can "take a class at a time". I have been eye balling U of M's MS programs (I live 20 minutes from a U of M extension. They have a max allotted time to complete the coursework, which is about 3 years.

Mosaic3

--chris-- wrote: »

I would contact the school to see if you can "take a class at a time". I have been eye balling U of M's MS programs (I live 20 minutes from a U of M extension. They have a max allotted time to complete the coursework, which is about 3 years.

I actually just confirmed that they will allow one class per semester,with a max of six years to complete the program.

blinkme323

Mosaic3 wrote: »

I actually just confirmed that they will allow one class per semester,with a max of six years to complete the program.

I'm currently enrolled in the program right now and there is a decent amount of programming involved. However, I will say that I've come across quite a few people with little to no programming experience in the classes, so you wouldn't be alone in that regard.

You will just have to have the willingness to to put the time in and get up to speed. Just my 2 cents though