I would like to do an MS in Computer Science. The trick is, I need to continue working and drawing a competitive salary to support my family. I am looking for suggestions on how to do this. For example:
1. Company Tuition Reimbursement -------------------------------- Many companies have some sort of tuition reimbursement program, which is very cool at any rate. Some companies go even further in allowing participants to use some work hours to attend classes, which is even cooler. For example, I heard Price Waterhouse Cooper allowed participating employees to work 35 hrs, and use 5 for classes. Know any such great programs?
2. Grants/Scholarships ------------------------------ I know these exist, but assume I won't be able to find one that pays a "competitive salary", compared to working as a software professional full-time. But, please let me know if any one knows of a great program.
3. Any other ideas? ------------------------------ Other programs, resources, etc.?
My main motivation is to be able to get involved in more research-focused/cutting-edge projects. Maybe some such positions would still be open to people with only a BS degree in CS? Any advice is appreciated.
I just drawing to the end of my masters, which i have studied while working by doing it with the Open University. This is a UK institution for distance learning, but it's courses are open to anyone. IMHO it's one of the best universities in the UK.
Liverpool University in the UK also offer a Masters in Information Technology or an MBA as online courses. I'm just coming to the end of my MSc and found it pretty good. The course is run through KIT eLearning in the Netherlands and is open to anyone meeting their entry requirements worldwide. Take a look at http://www.kitcampus.com.
As to companies that will sponsor such courses, I'm not so sure. I paid for the above course myself (about £6000 GBP) through my own company so there were no issues with sponsorship :-).
It has a lot of articles on the questions you are asking. It also ranks the different grad schools and insights towards selecting the right school.
If you want to get a degree for the sake of getting an MS, there are plenty of options. Fairly decent universities offer online courses that make it easy for you to get your degree.
If you want to get into research focussed and cutting edge, you really need to go to one of the top 10 universities. You need to do an MS/PhD full time. Pedigree counts for a lot in research oriented jobs. The reason is that research is more of a mind set than just knowledge.
Previous Topic
