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I am a newbie here, and I am also new to computer science, so I would like to know more about this career. I always like to plan ahead so that I know about it beforehand, rather than find out something later on and not be prepared.
I just switched my major from pre-med/biology to computer science! I am really excited to get started, as I always wanted to know how to program games and apps. I always come up with these whacky app and/or website ideas, but when it comes to programming, I don't know how. I thought it would always be cool to program games/apps/websites.
Anyway, back on topic. I live in Portland and go to Portland state university. I have enough credits to be a junior, but since I am switching to comp sci, it will take me at least a couple more years to get the degree. It's not a very known school, but it's near seattle (3-4 hour drive) and ABET accredited. My GPA is alright, it is a 3.46, but I usually get 3.8-4.0 GPA, it's just this last quarter I had some problems, which are now fixed. I should be able to raise the GPA to a 3.5-3.6+ by the time I graduate (I have a lot of credits right now, so I can't dramatically raise the GPA too much. But 3.5-3.6 should be doable, maybe even 3.7).
I will graduate at age 20 since I started college really early (at 15) through an early college high school program.
I am wondering, should I do a masters degree right after undergrad? Or should I go straight into the work field? If I were to do a masters degree, what would I need to do in undergrad in order to get into a top 10 masters program in computer science? Or does it not matter where I do my masters degree?
What is the starting salary for masters in comp sci graduates? Does it differ from school to school (like, do stanford grads get paid 100k+, while some random school grads get paid 70k?)
Would I be paid more if I got a masters degree, vs getting 2 years of experience?
On average, how soon do computer scientists reach a 6 digit salary with a bachelors, vs with a masters?
And one final question, how many hours a week do the 6-figure paid developers work? Is it just your regular 40-45 hours, or do they work 60 hour weeks?
But, this worries me: "I live in Portland and go to Portland state university....switching to comp sc... It's not a very known school, but it's near Seattle"
You are leaving a state school (low tuition) to attend ...?
Your career prospects will certainly be better. Plus, Microsoft, Twitter, Google and a few other large software companies have offices in Seattle so you'll be in a convenient intern location. Maybe you'll get to work with the xbox team next year. The top companies usually pay around $30/H for undergrad interns, around $35-40/H for grad interns, and start at around $100k for entry level full time positions.
I'll warn you though. You should get a software engineering internship at least once a year if you can and work on a few side projects that you can put on a resume (tablet app, Github library, hackathon, etc.). If you just get a CS degree without showing any experience outside of school, most good companies won't hire you straight out of school and you could end up in a large pool of existing mediocre software engineers. Which, I guess, might still be better than a bio undergrad. A grad program will give you a little more time to work on some resume builder stuff which would be good for you since you're new to the field and will have a little bit of catching up to do.
The CS degree is what you make of it so consider it carefully. Those companies are looking for smart guys, which you must be if you got into college at 15. That will likely buy you some points with them.
But, this worries me: "I live in Portland and go to Portland state university....switching to comp sc... It's not a very known school, but it's near Seattle"
You are leaving a state school (low tuition) to attend ...?
Right now I go to Portland State for Undergrad to get my bachelors, and my parents are paying for it. I was hoping to go to a grad school that offers a tuition remission kind of deal for graduate assistantships. I am going to graduate with my bachelors degree without any debt, but my parents won't pay for any other school, so I have to go to Portland state for my bachelors degree.
Your career prospects will certainly be better. Plus, Microsoft, Twitter, Google and a few other large software companies have offices in Seattle so you'll be in a convenient intern location. Maybe you'll get to work with the xbox team next year. The top companies usually pay around $30/H for undergrad interns, around $35-40/H for grad interns, and start at around $100k for entry level full time positions.
I'll warn you though. You should get a software engineering internship at least once a year if you can and work on a few side projects that you can put on a resume (tablet app, Github library, hackathon, etc.). If you just get a CS degree without showing any experience outside of school, most good companies won't hire you straight out of school and you could end up in a large pool of existing mediocre software engineers. Which, I guess, might still be better than a bio undergrad. A grad program will give you a little more time to work on some resume builder stuff which would be good for you since you're new to the field and will have a little bit of catching up to do.
The CS degree is what you make of it so consider it carefully. Those companies are looking for smart guys, which you must be if you got into college at 15. That will likely buy you some points with them.
Can internships be during the school year part-time, or do they have to be summer internships? I just have an obligation to my parents to visit my mom's home country every summer for the entire 2 months of summer while I am in undergrad, and in return, my parents pay for my college. We are citizens of the US and I get in-state tuition and everything, but my mom wants to go back to her home country every summer with me.
Can internships be during the school year part-time, or do they have to be summer internships? I just have an obligation to my parents to visit my mom's home country every summer for the entire 2 months of summer while I am in undergrad, and in return, my parents pay for my college. We are citizens of the US and I get in-state tuition and everything, but my mom wants to go back to her home country every summer with me.
The good internships at top companies will be full time for 4 months. Most of the big tech companies have interns all year round, but almost always full time. And there are more intern positions during the summer. If you can only do part time school year internship, you are limited to internship opportunities near where you go to school, which can be difficult to get (if there are any).
You need to explain to your mother how important an internship is to your education and future career. If your parents are paying for your education, they should understand internships are part of it.
Graduates (Bachelors or Masters) from lower tier comp sci programs without actual work experience will have a harder time finding entry level jobs then those who did internships.
Game programming is very different then regular programming. It's also a very difficult field to break into. It also tends to be lower pay, and much longer hours. If you are seriously interested in it, you need to looking into comp sci programs at other schools, that has a dedicated game design/programming curriculum.
But, this worries me: "I live in Portland and go to Portland state university....switching to comp sc... It's not a very known school, but it's near Seattle"
You are leaving a state school (low tuition) to attend ...?
Hopefully a school with a good computer science program. Low tuition should not be the number one criteria when it comes to education.
Can internships be during the school year part-time, or do they have to be summer internships? I just have an obligation to my parents to visit my mom's home country every summer for the entire 2 months of summer while I am in undergrad, and in return, my parents pay for my college. We are citizens of the US and I get in-state tuition and everything, but my mom wants to go back to her home country every summer with me.
It depends on the company, but most that I know of hire full time interns. It's still worth looking though. You might be able to get an internship for sometime other than summer, but I think your options will be a bit more limited. Maybe your parents could accept a visit during christmas or some other time instead. Early career building is pretty important. The start of your career usually has a huge impact on the rest.
I think it would be pretty disappointing to pass up huge opportunities for a single summer visit. We're talking about something that could have an impact on the rest of your working life. If you're a U.S. citizen, you should be able to take out federal loans if your parents cut you off. I know that people don't like to take out loans, but if you get one of the big tech companies on your resume, you will be set after that. You will be able to work pretty much anywhere you want. 5-10 years and you'll likely be in the $160k/year salary range.
But you don't have to decide that now. First, just kick a$$ at school, go to a hackathon, do a few cool and practical projects, and see if you can get an internship offer from a big name software company. I can't stress the importance of those personal projects enough, because at those companies, you'll be competing with people from MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech, and a bunch of other big names. But trust me, a decent GPA and some good project experience holds more weight than school name. Don't be afraid to visit a few of those places and meet some engineers in person, get noticed.
I once went to a presentation from a software engineer (SE) who's worked at quite a few of the big ones and has interviewed tons of SE candidates. She talked about things you need to do, things that need to be on your resume, and how to handle the interviews. She also wrote a book on this subject which includes a bunch of questions that are most common in SE interviews. My favorite thing about the book is that it's not full of a bunch of meaningless fluff and motivational crap. It's just no non-sense, cut through the B.S., "here's what you need to do" kind of book from someone who has tons of experience from both sides of the interview. It might do you some good since you're just starting your CS education and have plenty of time to build yourself up. PM me if you want a link.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UnemployedandLovingIt
Hopefully a school with a good computer science program. Low tuition should not be the number one criteria when it comes to education.
It depends on the company, but most that I know of hire full time interns. It's still worth looking though. You might be able to get an internship for sometime other than summer, but I think your options will be a bit more limited. Maybe your parents could accept a visit during christmas or some other time instead. Early career building is pretty important. The start of your career usually has a huge impact on the rest.
I think it would be pretty disappointing to pass up huge opportunities for a single summer visit. We're talking about something that could have an impact on the rest of your working life. If you're a U.S. citizen, you should be able to take out federal loans if your parents cut you off. I know that people don't like to take out loans, but if you get one of the big tech companies on your resume, you will be set after that. You will be able to work pretty much anywhere you want. 5-10 years and you'll likely be in the $160k/year salary range.
But you don't have to decide that now. First, just kick a$$ at school, go to a hackathon, do a few cool and practical projects, and see if you can get an internship offer from a big name software company. I can't stress the importance of those personal projects enough, because at those companies, you'll be competing with people from MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Caltech, and a bunch of other big names. But trust me, a decent GPA and some good project experience holds more weight than school name. Don't be afraid to visit a few of those places and meet some engineers in person, get noticed.
I once went to a presentation from a software engineer (SE) who's worked at quite a few of the big ones and has interviewed tons of SE candidates. She talked about things you need to do, things that need to be on your resume, and how to handle the interviews. She also wrote a book on this subject which includes a bunch of questions that are most common in SE interviews. My favorite thing about the book is that it's not full of a bunch of meaningless fluff and motivational crap. It's just no non-sense, cut through the B.S., "here's what you need to do" kind of book from someone who has tons of experience from both sides of the interview. It might do you some good since you're just starting your CS education and have plenty of time to build yourself up. PM me if you want a link.
This too.
Thank you for the info. However, since I am already going to Portland State U, I probably am not going to switch universities now, and will get a bachelors from here. The most that fafsa loans offer to undergrads is $7,500 loans per year, when even state school attendance costs like 20k a year including living expenses, so I wouldn't be able to go to college without my parents help. But my parents are paying for my full expenses, so I am all set there.
Do I need a masters degree to get to that 160k a year salary, or will a bachelors degree be sufficient? Hmm I am not quite sure about game design in that case. I might just stick with little game projects, like programming small android games for fun. I also would prefer a regular 40 hour week schedule. I am okay with a few 50-60 hour weeks thrown in per year, but I wouldn't want to be working 60 hour weeks year round, to be honest.
What if I get an internship after I graduate college? Would a company like microsoft take an intern after college graduation, instead of summers during college?
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Yes, if...
