advice on graduating in software?

Atomic Pineapple

Ok guys,
posted this the the postgrads section and got no replies so thought people here might have more experience and be able to give there opinion, I Apologise if its not allowed ask this here and dont mind if the mods want to remove it.


I'm a 4th year commercial computing student in Dkit, I hope to finish up this semester and get my honours degree.

So I've been looking into my prospects for after this and what I can expect to do with myself.

So to start with I've looked up graduate opportunities that are available and have got in contact with 2 companies that will be recruiting graduates in the summer and will be applying for an interview.

However I have also been asked by one of my lecturers to do a research masters in the field of mobile application development,

I didn't really consider doing a masters before as I just dont have the money but my lecturer said I will get paid for it and i will get a grant as well so it is something I'm seriously considering now.

I was just wondering which do you guys reckon would be best to do? get out in the real world and get some experience or do my masters?

What sort of potential extra gain would my masters give me in the future?

AARRRGH

Considering there is no work out there at the moment, I would do the masters.

I have a masters (in computer science) and have found it does make me stand out somewhat (few people I work with have a masters) but I don't think it adds much more money to your salary or anything like that.

ARGINITE

AARRRGH wrote: »

Considering there is no work out there at the moment, I would do the masters.

+1 for the masters.
I am just finishing up mine right now. It's a hard slog makes final year seem easy I think, but I would still recommend doing a masters through research to any one who asked my opinion on the subject.

pwd

I'm doing a research postgrad. I've worked in the real world between finishing my degree and starting my postgrad.

I don't think you'll get a grant. The project is probably funded and you'll probably get a stipend. The stipend will usually be about 14k a year. You may need to give some tutorials and lab and things.

If you are interested in doing postgraduate research, you might consider looking for at PhD positions. If you get on a project which has funding for a PhD position, you can transfer from a masters to a PhD within the first two years. If you do a regular masters, you need to start again to do a PhD. A PhD will give more options in your career - it will qualify you to work in research or lecturing.

Make sure you are interested in whatever the subject of the research is. Don't be too adverse to very formal writing.

Doing a postgrad will generally give you a lot more flexibility than getting a job will. You'll probably be dealing with people who are more laid back too. The amount of work involved varies - it will probably be largely down to how ambitious you are about how much you want to do.

NeverSayDie

I'd strongly recommend taking the masters option. Grant-funded research like that is a reasonably rare opportunity at the best of times, and these are far from the best of times. There's still reasonable amounts of work going in IT from what I've seen, but only really for experienced folks - graduates tend to suffer a good deal in a recession, as companies aren't willing to shoulder the extra burdens and risks of hiring inexperienced folks.

Re what the masters will get you, if nothing else, it makes your CV somewhat more impressive for the early stages of your career (especially a research masters on a grant, anyone looking at your CV familiar with academia will rate that considerably higher than a standard issue taught masters).

Aside from that, you may get the opportunity to get into further research or academic work if that turns out to take your fancy (ie move on to a PhD and into full-time research/lecturing, or indeed into commercial research). Not the least, it extends your student-living phase, which will appeal to a lot of folks - you'll be poorer than us industry types, but the life is usually a great deal more laid back.

Atomic Pineapple

some really good points raised.

just to clarify I have been in contact with 2 companies willing to take on graduates so if I got offered a job in the summer you guys reckon the 2 years experience I'd have in the work place would still not be as good as having a research masters on my cv?

techdiver

draffodx wrote: »

some really good points raised.

just to clarify I have been in contact with 2 companies willing to take on graduates so if I got offered a job in the summer you guys reckon the 2 years experience I'd have in the work place would still not be as good as having a research masters on my cv?

Work experience is always more important than a Masters in the workplace.

I know this as I'm involved in the interview process in my current job.

I did a masters after finishing my degree and it made little or no difference in workplace perception.

It's all about experience, so I would always rank that above everything.

hobochris

draffodx wrote: »

some really good points raised.

just to clarify I have been in contact with 2 companies willing to take on graduates so if I got offered a job in the summer you guys reckon the 2 years experience I'd have in the work place would still not be as good as having a research masters on my cv?

It depends on the subject matter. If you can get funded Id go for the masters, but at the same time in the Industry experience is king.

NeverSayDie

Well, assuming you're guaranteed two years of quality, relevant experience then yeah, that's worth a great deal more for a career in industry, but that may be a dangerous assumption. If they don't make the offer, let you go after three months, or have you installing OSs on desktops and writing Word macros for 2 years, you might regret it.

If this grant thing is indeed legit, I'd stick with the masters and worry about getting experience after that, chances are there'll be better graduate opportunities in a couple years' time. If you're absolutely sure of a two year position with a company (and a company telling you "we plan to do X" is not that), then go for that instead.

toiletduck

Was in a similar boat to the OP last year. It's was a tough choice but I went with the research masters. It's really good and am enjoying it. Sometimes I wonder if I would have been better off going on a graduate work, but I think with the way things are I took the right route.

Do you like the area of mobile apps? When do you have to decide?

zardette

techdiver wrote: »

Work experience is always more important than a Masters in the workplace.

I know this as I'm involved in the interview process in my current job.

I did a masters after finishing my degree and it made little or no difference in workplace perception.

It's all about experience, so I would always rank that above everything.

I would second that !!! I did a masters and it made "little difference either". At the interviews they where far more interested in experience that I had gained through contract work I had done than my masters project I thought about doing a PHD but I think experience seems to be the key in getting a job and if you are "lucky" enough to get a job then go for it . If you really want to do a masters doing it through a company might be an option too. Its a hard choice but it can tie in with the work you are doing in the company esp if you are in the R&D section.

Atomic Pineapple

NeverSayDie wrote: »

Well, assuming you're guaranteed two years of quality, relevant experience then yeah, that's worth a great deal more for a career in industry, but that may be a dangerous assumption. If they don't make the offer, let you go after three months, or have you installing OSs on desktops and writing Word macros for 2 years, you might regret it.

If this grant thing is indeed legit, I'd stick with the masters and worry about getting experience after that, chances are there'll be better graduate opportunities in a couple years' time. If you're absolutely sure of a two year position with a company (and a company telling you "we plan to do X" is not that), then go for that instead.

One company seems very genuine, there a start up american company in carlow called unuim (spelling could be wrong) and have sort of linked with Dkit to bring in 4 graduates during the summer. I know a guy who graduated last year and is currently working there and he loves and they seem to want to bring in graduates and keep them there.

But you have raised some more good points that I didn't consider before with regards to experience the work place or only getting a couple of months before being let go

toiletduck wrote: »

Was in a similar boat to the OP last year. It's was a tough choice but I went with the research masters. It's really good and am enjoying it. Sometimes I wonder if I would have been better off going on a graduate work, but I think with the way things are I took the right route.

Do you like the area of mobile apps? When do you have to decide?

Yeh I believe I would enjoy doing the masters , I am very interested in the area and I'm working on Android from Google for my final year project.

AARRRGH

Do the masters. No one regrets getting an education.

You have the rest of your life to earn money.

techdiver

AARRRGH wrote: »

Do the masters. No one regrets getting an education.

You have the rest of your life to earn money.

I know I said that doing a masters wouldn't be as useful as gaining experiece, but I was only responding to the question about which is the better option career wise.

I had a great time doing my masters, so I'm not saying that he shouldn't do one. As you say, he has all his life to earn money.

stephenlane80

I would first look at you ultimate goals before making a decision, if you are concidering a masters degree to earn extra money forget about it, you may or may not earn more,

If you are interested in an area that you didnt study during your undergraduate, and want to diversify a little, then i think that good grounds for masters study,

There are two types of masters, taught and research, a taught masters is just like another year of classes with a dissertation at the end. Where as a research masters is more like a job where you sit at a desk every day reading/writing. If you want to extend the student life a litte then the taught masters is a good way to go.

A lot of research masters courses allow transfer to PhD after sufficient progress, and in that case you don't get a masters you stay on the register until you have the PhD completed. Most don't begin a research masters without a view to going on to a PhD. The obvious barrier to all of this is funding, with most funding like IRCSET going to 1.1 honours students.

nuttz

AARRRGH wrote: »

Do the masters. No one regrets getting an education.

You have the rest of your life to earn money.

+1 here

'Some' employers acknowledge that you have a Masters and it is reflected in the pay grade.

Webmonkey

I'm in a similar boat only havn't had any offers but wondering if to go to job or do post grad. I'd really love to continue with doing a post grad and by the looks of the way the industry is today, it wouldn' t be a bad way to sit out the recession.

pauldiv

What attracts you to the masters?
What do you really want to do with your life?
If you want to be a mobile developer then do it.
If you want to do something else then do that instead.
Maybe just being asked by the lecturer to do the masters has massaged the old ego and you feel honoured by being asked.
Just remember they are getting a lot for your work and you own nothing after you finish.
Just be honest with yourself and go with your insticts.

TinCool

I'd do the Masters myself. I did a Post Grad after my 4 year Degree and have no regrets. My situation was slightly different to yours in that I wanted to get in to IT after having completed my Business Degree, so did a Post Grad in IT in DCU. It did get my foot in the door and have been in IT for the past 10 years and haven't looked back.

You're young so go and do the Masters, provided you're interested in the subject matter. You're less likely to go back to education when you get in to the day to day run of a job and general life, so I'd go for it whilst you're motivated. If anything, it'll allow you another 2 years to look at the market place and who knows, the Masters may very well open up new doors for you and gain some contacts in the industry. Plus there is the bonus of have more letters after your name

Just my two cents.

TC.

Skud

everyone saying do a masters but i wouldn't do a masters because you are offered it. If that's what you enjoy and the specific area you want to get into then do a masters. Sometimes masters become "irrelevant" (to a specific company or job role you may fall into) in the workplace. It will benefit you in the long run though but does not usually translate to a better salary. Also if you have a 1.1 in your undergraduate degree then make sure you get a 2.1 / 1.1 in your masters if it's graded. if you dont have a 1.1 you may get the opportunity to get a 1st

radioactiveman

I would put getting a job and experience first. The thing is though having a masters is very beneficial in getting a job, so if possible maybe do it part-time? There are a fair few part time courses out there, but at the end of it you will ideally have both experience and your qualification.

In my experience employers do look for a masters when hiring you, but to actually progress in your career, most companies will not look at your degree result, they'll look at your value as an employee. Usually your niche value and experience is more much valuable in this situation.

In two years time when you go to do interviews, will you have the specific skill set a recruiter is looking for? It could be just as worthwhile doing specific certifications that are in demand, and going to interviews armed with that, than getting a general postgrad qualification.