I believe learning is a never-ending process. In 2016, it was one year after I finished my undergrad and started working for Microsoft. I was enjoying the work at Microsoft and getting to put my coding skills to work — enabling enterprises across the globe to purchase Microsoft software. The one year in the industry had been a great learning experience, giving me a new perspective on computer science and its applications.
During all this time, I knew I wanted to further pursue further studies. I had taken an interest in Databases and Data Sciences during my undergrad. I wanted to dwell deeper into the foundations of these topics in an academic setting. I thought the best way for me to do that was to pursue a Master’s degree in CS specializing in these topics.
I found myself at crossroads, where I had to choose between a well-paying job at a tech giant or an MS in CS at a good University. I believe a lot of new grads find themselves in this situation early in their career. It is always a difficult choice — both the options are good career opportunities, good learning, and growth tracks and you get to work with the best minds in the field.
With the plethora of online courses and degrees available, I had previously browsed through the popular offerings to see if they were really worth the effort. Along with the knowledge, I also wanted a recognized degree to display my accomplishment. Most online degrees available at that point, I realized, were not at par with their on-campus counterparts. The course work was watered down, the lectures and subject material not effective for the online mode of study and mainly the certificate mentioned “online”, making one think it’s not an equivalent of the on-campus.
It was at this time I learned from a friend about the Online MS in CS offered by Georgia Tech. This course caught my attention — it claimed to be a completely online master’s degree, with specially designed course material and having the same rigor and academic depth as an on-campus master’s course. Also, the best thing was that on completing the course, you get a degree in Master of Science in Computer Science. That’s right, no “online”. It’s the same exact course and degree as on-campus, that too for a fraction of the cost. When a top University like Georgia tech promotes its online degree as an equivalent to the traditional one, I was ready to believe it was
I realized this could be a wonderful opportunity for me. I could continue my work at Microsoft while I earn a degree from one of the top universities for CS. After some thought, I made up my mind to commit to the additional daily load that needs to be put in, to earn this degree. I applied to the course for admission to Fall 2016, and I was accepted.
The online masters experience was something new for me. It was the first time I was taking any course for credit completely online. The way the course was designed and structured made it easy for students to learn at their convenience, not restricted by time zones. Most courses also deal very well with the examination and assignments to ensure the right amount of help and guidance is available. Most of the students enrolled in this program are employed full time, and the course structure and delivery keep that in mind. This doesn’t mean that the effectiveness or rigor of the course is in any way compromised. Most students stretch beyond their normal working hours and utilize their weekends to be able to complete these courses. While it is very normal for students to enroll in more than 3 courses in a semester when studying on campus, most students in OMSCS choose to take only 1 or 2 courses. That way it becomes possible to manage the coursework with a day job.
I’ve had a few people ask me if it really was worth it and a couple of them criticized saying it isn’t even a real degree. The online version of Masters isn’t a full replacement of the traditional on-campus masters. It has its share of problems. Any amount of online interaction might not be a full replacement for a classroom discussion and 1–1 interaction with professors. Networking plays an important role in the careers of individuals and the online platforms currently in place do not easily facilitate it. For many students, masters is a way of career advancement and moving to better job markets across the world. The online Masters being a part-time along with a day job, might not immediately provide these benefits on graduation.
That being said, with OMSCS I got world-class graduate education taught by a few of the best teaching faculty. All at my schedule, from the comfort of my home and at a fraction of the cost. I did not have to take humongous loans for the fee and my employer covered a major part of the costs. Though it took me 2 years 8 months to graduate, I can say that I’ve 5 years of full-time work ex along with a master’s degree. Beyond all this, the knowledge gained from formal education is something that I’d have missed if I’d chosen not to go for the online MS and continued only with my job and this knowledge is forever mine to keep. The confidence boost gained from doing well in graduate-level courses complemented my work efficiency. For anyone whose main aim is to gain knowledge while still working, OMSCS and other similar online Masters courses might be the perfect fit.
The world is going through a paradigm shift during the COVID-19 pandemic. Education Institutions are one of the heavily affected areas, as regular academic settings rely heavily on in-person interactions. The focus now is to avoid as much interaction as possible and move to online avenues. Most schools and colleges across the world are exploring and moving to a fully online mode of delivery during these times. A few of them are considering making the online mode of instruction as the default. Bringing top class education online increases the affordability, reach, and accessibility across the world.
Even once we move past the pandemic, a full return to traditional classroom setting might not fully happen given the safety, flexibility, and ease provided by the online mode. A combination of traditional and online coursework is what I guess will be the new norm. I believe this will bring about more awareness and understanding of the online masters and will help reduce the discrepancies between the modes of deliveries and ease the shortcomings of the online platform. The Master’s degree which seemed to be unconventional and atypical a few years back is set to become the convention for at least the near future.
For more information on the OMSCS program you can visit this link.
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My Unwonted Degree. No more Uncommon?
