Is Studying Masters in Computer Science a Good Choice? | GyanDhan
Published date: 17 Jun 2019
Updated on: 06 Apr 2020
This generic question comes to all our minds while making a career choice. The rapid proliferation of the Internet of Things in our economic, political, and social life has led to increasing demand for computing professionals all over the world. This rapid disruption has also seen the corresponding extension in undergraduate and graduate (Masters) Computer Science programs.
In spite of all such major developments, very little is known about such a pertinent profession. According to a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Cornell University), by 2024, the US will witness almost three-quarters of the growth in the STEM courses related occupations.
Is the scope of these promising opportunities confined to individual economic or financial mobility or studying computer science subject exclusively? No, in fact, it is very much interdisciplinary, and it extends the ambit by providing space to study other allied subjects as well.
By choosing a career in Computers you get to explore:-
Broad areas, viz. Artificial Intelligence, Computer vision, Machine learning & data mining, Natural language processing, the Web & information retrieval
In Interdisciplinary areas you will get to explore Comp. bio & bioinformatics, Computer Graphics, Economics and computation, Human-computer interaction, Visualization, Robotics.
The Systems consist of the operational aspects, in its ambit, comes Computer architecture, Computer networks, Computer security, Databases, Design Automation, Embedded & real-time systems, High-performance computing, Mobile computing, Measurement & performance Analysis, Operating systems, Software Engineering, Programming languages.
Theory ensures and guides the structural framework; you get to work on Algorithms & complexity, Cryptography, Logic & verification.
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What are the Opportunities After the Course?
During and after completing your degree, the opportunities do not remain stagnant; in fact, it helps open the gates of numerous options broadly in job and research field.
Jobs and internships: - After graduating, jobs in various fields such as Machine learning, cyber-security, and etc. become easily available. To avail maximum employment opportunities, getting internships during the course is very important. Employers generally offer Pre-placement offers (PPO) to their interns.
Research: - Employment opportunities are not limited to mainstream private/ public sector jobs. If you have an interest and aptitude for research, you can try to pursue research possibilities in corporate or research institutions. Studies suggest that the research opportunities in computer field will never get stagnated.
Who are the Top Global Recruiters?
Source: GyanDhan Research
Companies
Specialization
Average Salary in US ($)
International Business Machines (IBM)
Artificial Intelligence
116,500
Google, Inc.
Machine Learning
134,795
Facebook Inc.
Big Data Analytics
140,064
Comcast Cable, Inc.
Software Development
143,523
Google, Inc.
Software Engineering
116,402
Microsoft Corp
Software Architecture
151,495
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPMCC)
Information Science & Management Information Systems (MIS)
114,783
Sentek Global
Cyber Security
118,025
Vmware, Inc.
Cloud Computing
159,493
Roche Molecular Systems, Inc.
Bioinformatics
138,807
What are the Average Salaries Offered in the Top Destinations?
(Figures are for Master Courses and per annum basis, Source: GyanDhan Research)
Top Universities by Popularity
Top Recruiters
25th Percentile Salary (USD)
Median Salary (USD)
90th Percentile Salary (USD)
University of Southern California
Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Qualcomm, NetApp
89,875
103,403.5
131,150
North Carolina State University
Intel Corporation, Microsoft, Amazon
91,320
104,344
133,487.9
University of Florida
The MathWorks, Cerner Corporation, Bloomberg
88,122.5
104,606
136,757
University of Texa, Dallas
Cerner Corporation, Ericsson, AMD
78,623.25
96,626.5
135,877.1
Texas A&M University
Microsoft, Intel Corporation, Amazon
95,105
107,261
136,757
New Jersey Institute of Technology
eClinicalWorks, BlackRock, Citi, Verizon, Bloomberg
69,755
86,000
120,590.4
Arizona State University
Garmin International, Qualcomm, Cerner Corporation, Bloomberg
89,013
104,344
136,757
Illinois Institute of Technology
Motorola Solutions, AT&T, Cerner Corporation
75874.75
90,244
121,900
Georgia Institute of Technology
Amazon, Google, Next Jump, Zynga, Bloomberg LP
95,493
105,216
136,757
The University of North Carolina
Bank of America, IBM, Capgemini, Fidelity Investments
78,750
89,351
125,876
Canada
Top Universities by Popularity
Top Recruiters
25th Percentile Salary (CAD)
Median Salary (CAD)
90th Percentile Salary (CAD)
Concordia University
Nakisa, Amdocs, BOMBARDIER
56,045
68,000
80,979
University of Windsor
Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, CGI
48,000
60,000
78,500
University of Waterloo
SAP, BlackBerry, IBM Canada
72,017
79,976
109,500
Dalhousie University
Bell Aliant, BlackBerry, Adastra
58,767.25
63,863
76,827.7
University of Ottawa
Kinaxis, Adobe, Cisco
61,000
72,720.5
87,548.7
University of New Brunswick
Bell, BlackBerry, Blue Spurs
48,000
55,000
75,703
Simon Fraser University
SAP, RBC, Activision, Amazon
54,080
71,057
84,550
University of British Columbia
Microsoft, TELUS, Avanade
64,475.5
79,497.5
114,950
University of Toronto
Altera, Amazon Web Services, Apple, BUZZ Indexes
74,570.5
88,059
110,973.6
McGill University
Cisco, Microsoft, Ayuda Media Systems
63,500
75,000
99,200
What are the Top Destinations and Institutes for Research in Computer Science?
United States (Time period 1990-2019 Source: CS Rankings)
Institute by Research Output
Publication Count
Faculty
Carnegie Mellon University
34.6
160
University of California- Berkeley
23.3
88
Stanford University
21.8
66
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
21.5
89
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
18
99
Institute by Research Output
Publication Count
Faculty
University of Toronto
8.9
83
University of British Columbia
7.5
53
University of Waterloo
7.1
92
Simon Fraser University
3.8
41
McGill University
3.6
27
Institutes in Non- English speaking regions
Source: CS Rankings
Institute by Research Output
Publication Count
Faculty
ETH Zurich
12
38
Technion (Israel) - Israel Institute of Technology
9.3
85
Max Planck Institute (Germany)
8.4
32
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (Switzerland)
8.1
48
Is Studying Computers Abroad, a Smart Financial Decision?
While planning to study abroad, one thing that becomes the major factor other than the student's interest is the payoff or the return on investment.
To make an estimate, one should always go for a cost-benefit analysis to consider the total cost of studying and the return you will get on the investment. If the destination is outside India such as the US, Canada, Australia, or Germany, then we, India’s leading education loan startup, can be of great help. Especially our tools like EMI calculator and Future Earnings estimator. These tools will provide you with a clear perspective regarding your future earnings and the total cost of education.
So, Is It Really a Good Option?
An example would answer this question better. Suppose you take an education loan of 50L at the rate of 11% for five years to fund your education. The salary range for a US MS in Computer Science is 76,704 USD to 132,126 USD (₹53,60,075 to ₹92,32,964) per annum. So, in a worst-case scenario, if you get the minimum salary of 76,704$ (₹ 53,60,075) per annum, your monthly EMI will be around 1900 USD (₹1,32,772) with a minimum monthly salary 6300$ (₹4,40,244), your monthly expenses will cost around 3000 USD (₹2,09,640) which will be adequate to pay back the EMI of education loan without any financial burden and living a comfortable life. Now in another case, if you are currently working at a salary of 25L per annum in India, will it still make sense to go through all the hassle? The average cost of living in the most expensive city, Mumbai ( in a gated society while using private transport) amounts to Rs 70,000 to 80,000 per month. In that case, you will still be left with a hefty amount.
Conclusion
The English speaking countries are far ahead in Computer Science than their contemporaries in terms of Research or employment opportunities. By studying Computer Science, you have the option of entering in any field of your choice or interest. Once you have decided what you plan to study, and if you decide to pursue it abroad, you will have to take the financial aspects into consideration as well. We are here to help with your financing needs. Apply today for an instant quote and expert consultation on your education loan options.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.gyandhan.com/blogs/studying-masters-in-computer-science