HACKER Q&A
📣 rsrvt

Dropping out of graduate (Msc) program to pursue career opportunity?


Hi HN.

I'm currently enrolled in a graduate CS program in Europe (started half a year ago, another one and a half years to go). I've recently gotten an exciting opportunity (via some contacts from a previous internship) to work on a new project for a fairly prestigious company and I'm tempted to go for it. I've been somewhat unhappy with how interesting/challenging the degree is and covid isn't making it any more fun either. If I go for the opportunity I would quit pursuing my master degree, which of course leaves me to wonder what I'd lose. I've got some fairly active open source contributions/projects and some professional/extracurricular experience going for me, and I'm wondering whether in a couple years that'll way up against a master degree.

Is there anyone here with similar experience? Anyone who can comment on whether in their experience the lack of a master degree is a problem?

I'm in CS/robotics and the job is in that field, also I'm located in Europe and am expecting to stay there.

Thanks.

  👤 7thaccount Accepted Answer ✓
It's a tough one. I have a decade in industry and have noticed that even with lots of experience and expertise in things that most candidates don't have, some of the more interesting positions have hard requirements for a master's or doctorate degree, meaning that HR filters you out before even getting to a hiring manager. As a result, I'm doing an online masters (a pain at this point in my life) to keep my options open if I need to change jobs later. I kinda wish I had done a master's sooner before starting my career, but then it would have pushed my career back and I wouldn't be where I'm at now (skill and experience wise). I've talked to several industry contacts that have offered to hire me, so I'm not at a major loss. I just have to use networking for some jobs instead of just going through regular channels. This is fine as long as I know someone at the company I'm interested.

In short, there are advantages to both. A lot of the skills you get in grad school are the same ones you pick up in industry, although grad school will show you how to do published research as well. Having the piece of paper (degree) is nice, but getting a major project done is also good.

If you want to be in academia long term, stay in school. If you're only getting a master's because you don't know what to do with your life, I'd consider taking a break and trying that opportunity. Think about opportunity costs here. You gain and lose either way, but perhaps one choice has a higher benefit overall.

Edit: for robotics in particular, I would think you'd want a master's or doctorate to not be pushed into niche roles, but I'm not really sure. Can you bring up these concerns with those offering the job? Like "Hey, I'm really interested in doing this, but don't want to lose out on future opportunities. What is the typical career progression for someone that works here with only a bachelor's degree?".