Is taking a conversion master's in computer science a good idea? [closed]

Question

I've just applied for a conversion masters in computer science. I graduated with a degree in English four years ago, and so I've been a data entry clerk for a year and a bartender for three. I want to have a 'proper' job so I can move from home and all that. I've been given several reasons why I keep failing interviews:

According to info from careers advice websites and the like, English is a 'useless' degree, and I should attempt to get more sought-after skills and qualifications. The masters I have applied for teaches Java programming and would prove I have technical capability and that I'm not "just another English grad." Well, that's the plan, at least.

Interviewers tell me that I sound like I'm "looking for just any job, not THIS job in particular." This is absolutely true; I have no particular compunction about what I do as long as it pays and doesn't involve people as its primary focus. With the masters, I applied because I use computers pretty much constantly and I think I could be competent at programming, but I haven't really done any programming in my spare time except for a course in javascript, so can I be said to "want" to be a programmer? How do you tell when you "want" something enough that pursuing it is a good idea?

My family also points out that I fail interviews because I have the personality of a stone. I haven't any close friends, no hobbies, and when I talk to people it apparently sounds like I'm talking to them because I think I should talk to them, rather than because I want to. This is also true; I've never been conversational. I can never think of anything to say and I've never seen the point of it. However, I was hoping that if I take this masters, I would be forced into a new environment with new people who share an interest in computing, and new things to try.

This course is going to cost about £12,000 if I sign up; are these good enough reasons to take it? If not, what are the reasons that would make you take a course? What should I do instead? Is the problem that I'm not doing the things I "like" and that there are other things I should try, or is it that these are the right things to do and the problem is that I'm being flaky about it all?

Answer 1

I would say that it would be a very good idea to first try programming by yourself before signing up for a programming course and spending 12k on it.

Without knowing what programming is how can you know if it is for you and if you will like doing it 9 to 5 every day at work?

Start learning programming by yourself and after some time you will start to get the idea of what it's like to do programming. Python would be a good language to start with as it is simple and avoids many complexities of some other languages. You could give it a try by using free online book Learn Python The Hard Way.

After you are done with that little book you will know if you want to do programming and buy the course you were talking about or not.

Programming is a challenging job and subject, and it is definitely not for anyone. That is why it is important to try it before committing money and considerable time to it.

Answer 2

If you already had a BS in comp sci I would say no. But since your degree is in English (a worthless degree for practical job hunting) then maybe a yes. A degree will fill the "has comp sci degree" check mark some HR departments have.

Having met many comp sci guys with masters and PhD's I can say their programming ability is not any better than someone with a BS. The masters may translate to higher starting pay at some companies. But you have to weigh this against the lost working time and the cost of the masters itself.

Keep in mind that college is a much riskier investment in 2012 than it was in 1960. Back in the day college was a "sure thing". A student could pay for it in full by working part-time. This is no longer the case. At least in the USA. Things may be different in Europe.

Students are graduating with too much debt. In some cases over $200K. And they can only find jobs working as unskilled labor. The loans cannot be defaulted and they have their wages garnished. Even comp sci grads. It's a sad thing.

Answer 3

I think there are several questions here, so I will break them down.

Interviewing Doesn't Get the Job

Are we talking eight interviews or fifty? Jobs are tight now, and it is common for people with positions to fill to interview many people. If you get low numbers of interviews, work on your resume or on how you target resumes to open positions. If your resume is great and your presentation is lacking, it might be indicated by high numbers of interviews. You can learn to interview from books and coaches.

Liberal Arts Remorse

Liberal arts remorse happens to a lot of people. I know several teachers who changed their line of work to either go back to school for business or engineering, or just found niches in unrelated roles where they made or sold something. It is that old saw about picking something you like, can do well, and that people will pay you to do. English, particularly teaching or writing, can be a marketable skill. Ask past professors or other graduates from your school what they are doing and how the got their jobs.

Computer Science Degrees

Don't take anything about the switch to computer science casually. Both undergrad and graduate degrees in this subject are challenging. In college, I switched from fine arts to business to computer science. A guy I knew from fine arts and I took first semester CS together. Mid semester, I thought it was going pretty well. The professor gave interesting, logical, memorable lectures. The reading, homework and programming assignments seemed like they were paced about right, and my scores were high. My buddy on the other hand told me one day that it was a weed out class and that I was not going to see him there anymore.

Each person has different aptitudes. Doing something new may succeed or fail depending on how new. If a professor designates prerequisites, it is disaster to ignore the advice. Make sure you understand what is in the program in terms of math, programming, abstract thinking, test taking, group projects, and programming in multiple computer languages, and thesis or portfolio.

Conversion

In some schools, candidates are rarely admitted for a masters without a CS undergrad. Often, non-CS undergrads take additional class to make up deficiencies. As a masters student, you may be competing with others who have CS Bachelor's degrees. For entry level jobs, a BS might be better than a masters. If I were looking at a job candidate with an undergraduate that was not CS, but had a masters degree, I would want to be careful that I was still getting good grounding in the basics.

I recommend you consider a second Bachelors degree. Tuition per class is often less. If you could take that great weed out first semester class as a part time student, you could find out more your suitability for CS, and more importantly, about its suitably for you. With overlapping general studies, you probably have about the same amount of coursework either way, and you would compete with undergrads and have a leg up for higher academic standing.

Criticism

People who give you negative advice that is permanent, pervasive, and personal are not being very helpful. It sounds to me like you are twenty-something, have recently started being independent, but it is a challenge. You have many years to steer toward your goals, and many years to benefit from advantage of another degree whether it be computer science or something else.

When survival is less of a focus, many of the issues you mentioned like going after any job, or friends, hobbies, etc. are likely to solve themselves. Perhaps you have more friends than your parents know. While sometimes we get down on ourselves and think, "I wouldn't have a friend that would stoop to have a friend like me." This is emotion talking, and unlikely to be true. Friendships are often asymmetrical, inexplicable, and transformative. Being friendly and interested and in proximity are sometimes the only ingredients needed.

In computer science, sometimes going egoless is just what the doctor (Dr. Gerald Weinberg) ordered. See:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2006/05/the-ten-commandments-of-egoless-programming.html

Answer 4

£12k to learn programming? Wowza!

There are lectures on youtube about learning to program and intros to Computer Science. Try to avoid the Indian Technical College ones as they can send you to sleep. Watch a few of those, program along with them and if you find it tedious it's probably not the career choice for you.

Another area you may be suited for is Technical Writing. Writing documentation for an end-user of a product/framework/whatever. This would more than likely require a bit of technical knowledge so you actually know what you're writing about and can spot errors, but not programming/problem solving skills so much. I'm not sure what the outsourcing scene is like for this area though, maybe someone else could chip in.

As for having a 'stone'-like personality. That should be ok but only if you have to technical skills for interviewers to overlook it. You don't. There are some strange people working in CS related jobs.

Another thing, I think the CS/SE field has become so full of people who have the piece of paper saying they're qualified yet cannot program to save their skin that interviewers are probably more interested in what you've actually done instead of what you know. It's easy to learn off the answers to the obvious interview questions but proving you can put them into practice counts for a lot more. Create something.