Which grad school should I aim for in Computer Science, MS ir PhD

[bycfly]

I need advice on which grad schools to apply to. Graduated from University of Virginia with a bachelors degree in Computer Science major. Cumulative GPA is 3.67, major GPA 3.7.

Working for top tech company currently in state of Washington as a software engineer, I will work for 3 years total before starting a PhD or Masters. No research experience or research awards, but GRE score is top 5% in both quantitative and verbal. I will likely get very good recommendations from my employer.

Without any research experience should I try for a Masters in Machine Learning first? During these three years any way to gain research experience?

I'm looking at University of Washington hopefully for instate masters program 

 

[Luptior]

Frankly speaking, if you work as a SDE, there is almost no change to get research experience during your work. Without any research experience you should try for a Masters in Machine Learning first.

For UW, there is no Master of Science in CS program(they do give MS degrees but only for UW BS/MS combined). The professional degree in CS(PMP) is not suitable for continuing to PhD. In addition, if you are looking for instate tuition, "All PMP students pay the same tuition regardless of citizenship status or Washington State residency." https://www.cs.washington.edu/academics/pmp