How do you write personal statements for a master's program?

[yaey]

For the PhD degree, you're usually supposed to write about your research experience, but master's candidates often have ambitions in industry. What do I say if I just want to get a job? Somehow that doesn't sound like a noble pursuit that will shape the future of humanity.

(In my specific case I want to pursue a Master's because I haven't taken enough CS classes and want more background before throwing myself into the working world, but somehow I don't think they want to hear that)

Edited August 31, 2012 by yaey

[minke]

They might want to hear what sector of the working world you're interested in, which field you specifically plan on going into, why you think you're a good fit for their program, and what your career goals are after you graduate. More background in what, exactly? SEO? Code languages? Interface design? Do you want a CS Career?

SOPs for master's programs have writing prompts where they're pretty clear about the questions they want you to answer. Here's Standford's:

Statement of Purpose - Your Statement of Purpose should be concise, focused, and well written. It should describe succinctly your reasons for applying to the proposed program at Stanford, your preparation for this field of study, research interests, future career plans, and other aspects of your background and interests which may aid the admissions committee in evaluating your aptitude and motivation for graduate study. The Statement of Purpose must be no more than 8000 characters in length. This includes spaces in between words. it will be submitted as part of the online application.

Make a list where you respond to each red word (bullet points are great for this), and you'll be well on your way to a first draft of an SOP.