Hi there! I am deciding between these two program and I really need some suggestions from you.
I career goal is to continue to do academia which I would probably fail so my back-up plan is to become a machine learning engineer.
Here are some information I know.
UCLA: pros The school has a better location and reputation. Stipend 31K/year. There are several professors do stuff in machine learning. Nice climate.
cons The core requirements are too theoretical: Numerical Analysis, Applied ODE/PDE. Relatively weaker networks in Industry compared to Gatech.
Gatech: pros Though the home unit is math department, there is a large flexibility in selection of courses and advisors. The core requirements are very practical and useful: numerical methods, discrete algorithms, modeling and simulation, computational data analysis, high performance computing. Better connection is industry.
cons life in Atlanta could be too simple. The location and reputation is just fine.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Please help me out!!!!