UCSD ECE-CompE vs CMU BIC. Decision Decision Decision.

[zj45499]

Well, I consider myself very luck to be admitted to these two programs, both being among the best CE programs.

 

However I am not able to make my mind.

My BS is not in CS but I did do a lot of CS courses like C, data structure and operating system. 

My goal after MS is to find a job as SDE in top tech firms.

 

First of all, either program is pure-CS: 

ECE-CE, a 1.5 year program, requires 4 ECE classes, I will be able to take 8~10 CS classes.

BIC, a 2 year program, requires 4 Bio-related classes, I will be able to take 5~6 CS classes, and a CS capstone project which will took a semester.

 

For BIC:

+ Great reputation.

+ Great alumni network.

+ Great job perspective.

o Relatively new program, about 40 or so student per year. Is under School of Computer Science.

o High workout.

o Higher cost, which is not too much of a deal for me.

-  Full 2 year program.

-  Doesn't like the winter, doesn't like the temp.

-  No university housing, which sometimes can be a headache: higher rent for a lesser living environ.

 

For ECE-CE:

+ Great program, small student size (about 80 or so M.S per year for ECE department, And I'm only in CE track).

+ Great location, CA, career fair will be good. and there will be three of them per year.

+ Great weather, lower cost

+ 1.5 year program.

+ University housing

-  CE ranking is lower than CMU. (US News 12 vs 2). The only downfall..

 

 

To be honest, I'm really leaning over to UCSD program, since I already spent four years of BS in a chilly, windy, inland city.

But at the same time, turning down an education from the most prestigious CS university somehow struck me as a bad bad idea... :<

 

They say that once you got a offer from top companies, no one will ever care where you come from. 

So as I'm finishing this post, I realized that what I'm not so sure is the impact of choosing a slightly lower ranked program to my future job perspective and my ability to succeed in a SDE career.

 

 

Thanks everyone for your opinions!

Edited February 13, 2015 by zj45499

[PanicMode]

"They say that once you got a offer from top companies..." So you assume you will get that at some point ?

[zj45499]

"They say that once you got a offer from top companies..." So you assume you will get that at some point ?

 

Well, at least that's my big plan. Still a long way to go though.

I'm just trying to avoid regretting my gut out in the future for choosing the wrong one. 

 

Any thoughts?

[velua]

In general, I would say to go by location. Once you graduate and apply to jobs, HR people will throw out resumes of pretty much everyone who's not in-state. Having an M.S. isn't exactly rare these days. It's the new B.S.

 

California is clearly better than Pennsylvania for CS jobs. You also want to land a job before you graduate. If you move after graduation to a state with a good economy, you'll have to deal with interviewers pretending they've been living under a rock since 2008, saying "oh, so you don't have a job?"

 

However, with CMU, I'm sure the networking factor is very powerful and could land you a job anywhere in the country if you do well.

[zj45499]

In general, I would say to go by location. Once you graduate and apply to jobs, HR people will throw out resumes of pretty much everyone who's not in-state. Having an M.S. isn't exactly rare these days. It's the new B.S.

 

California is clearly better than Pennsylvania for CS jobs. You also want to land a job before you graduate. If you move after graduation to a state with a good economy, you'll have to deal with interviewers pretending they've been living under a rock since 2008, saying "oh, so you don't have a job?"

 

However, with CMU, I'm sure the networking factor is very powerful and could land you a job anywhere in the country if you do well.

 

Yeah! That's exactly what I reckoned.

 

With CS jobs, location is rather important nowadays. Some of my classmates would easily give up Columbia EE for UCI CS. (No offence, purely ranking-wise)

However, with my situation, CMU's rep and network and career fairs are so powerful that they off-set the location disadvantage. With a CMU degree, getting through HR isn't a difficult thing at all.

 

So in job-hunting perspective, I would pretty much draw the line 50/50. 

With UCSD getting good location and good program, CMU getting good reputation and great program.

 

But I would like to know how those big companies like google fb or linkedin think of UCSD graduates vs CMU graduates.

Anyone?

Edited February 13, 2015 by zj45499

[velua]

Well, look people up from those companies on Linkedin and see where they went to school.

[velua]

How many classes do people usually take in M.S. CS programs? 3/semester?

 

Also, I don't see why no university housing is a con. University housing is a scam. For example, my university apartment was $800/month my senior year (I think) and there were 4 of us, so they were making $3200/month. All for a crappy place with paper thin walls that might be worth $1600/month in the real world. We weren't even allowed to have a car there without getting some special permit too. At bigger schools, you also want to avoid all the partying too close to campus anyway.

 

Rent in Pitt will be dirt cheap compared to SD, though.

[zj45499]

How many classes do people usually take in M.S. CS programs? 3/semester?

 

Also, I don't see why no university housing is a con. University housing is a scam. For example, my university apartment was $800/month my senior year (I think) and there were 4 of us, so they were making $3200/month. All for a crappy place with paper thin walls that might be worth $1600/month in the real world. We weren't even allowed to have a car there without getting some special permit too. At bigger schools, you also want to avoid all the partying too close to campus anyway.

 

Rent in Pitt will be dirt cheap compared to SD, though.

 

yeah. about 3/semester. and SD has three semesters per year. So overall, I might be able to take more CS courses in SD.

 

Well, from what I've heard, UCSD graduate housing is pretty solid and the rent can be considered low in La Jolla area.

For a 2 or 3 BR, the rent is 500-620 depending on the location of the house/apartment, both is near the school.

 

And also, UCSD is in La Jolla, so it's kinda suburban. Living cost is about the same in Pittsburgh(Urban, but small city).

[velua]

Oh, UCSD isn't in San Diego? I see.

[zj45499]

Well, look people up from those companies on Linkedin and see where they went to school.

From what I can get out of Linkedin searches, in Facebook, twitter, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Linkedin, about 1800 are CMU graduates, 800 are UCSD graduates.

Considering that UCSD produces at most 250 CS students (100- in ECE, 100- in CSE), and CMU product at least 500 (there are 10 cs-related majors that I know of until now, 50 students per program)

 

So as I said, 50/50 job-hunting perspective. We're still tied..

[velua]

Maybe try to see if you'd fit in with the other students better at one place. Both in terms of non-academic interests, and also if you're going to feel significantly above/below them intellectually. Or potential advisors. Or areas of study you're interested in.

 

Maybe also consider smaller companies. Unless you're completely sold on living onsite at Google for the rest of your life and having no life.

[zj45499]

BUMP**