Computer Science Graduate School
Outline of Discussion
What is graduate school like?
Is graduate school for me?
What schools should I consider?
How do I apply?
How will they evaluate me?
Question and Answer
Grad school is not for everyone
• Plenty of smart people go right to industry
– Learn on the job
– Advance within company or hop jobs
– Entrepreneurs cannot afford to wait
• For some, grad school provides
– A way to one-up UVa on the resume (degree as status symbol)
– A fast track to a job (faster than working your way up)
– Unique opportunities (no other way to be professor)
– A great opportunity to focus
What is Graduate School Like?
A professor’s perspective…
• Every professor runs a small company
– Product: Invents and develops long-range research
– Customer: typically Federal Government (National
Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency – DARPA)
– Annual Revenue: $300,000 - $1,000,000
– Employees: Grad students
What is Graduate School Like?
M.S. Degree
• 1.5 - 2 years
• Coursework similar to senior-level undergraduate courses
• Usually provided an opportunity to specialize
– Can easily start degree without selecting area of focus
– Good schools provide opportunity to take many focused
courses in your favorite area
• Research (in form of thesis) may be required
• Tuition and stipend are possible
– (full tuition + $16k / 9 mos + summer job)
What is Graduate School Like?
Ph.D. Degree
• 4 - 7 years
• Similar coursework to Master’s Degree plus seminars and courses
related to research
• Research required
• Tuition and stipend scholarships are standard
– ($16k / 9 mos + some summer jobs)
• Required to specialize
– Helpful to know research interests from day one to expedite
selection of research focus
– Many select research focus after starting school
Is Graduate School for You?
What are your career goals?
• Sick and tired of school
• Learn on the job (job hopping)
• Entrepreneur
• Technology management (manage engineers)
• Professor
Is Graduate School for You?
• Do you enjoy learning - becoming an expert?
– PhD makes you world’s expert in foo
• Do you like being a big fish in a small pond?
– Question applies to job and school options
• Do you prefer constancy or change?
– Higher degrees are entree to management
and provide you with more control
• Financial situation
Is Graduate School for You?
Degree pros and cons
• Bachelor’s Degree
– Good starting salary ($50k) but peaks early
– More job openings
– Opportunity to swap jobs or move to management
– But many jobs are entry level
– Less control of day-to-day tasks
– Employer usually benefits from not promoting you
– May become bored – have to hop jobs
BS in CS Job Satisfaction
1992 CS graduates were surveyed in 1997
• Reported high satisfaction with working conditions
(and the economy only got hotter 1997 – 2001…
it’s’ cold now)
From: www.nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001165
Show Me the Money
2001 Undergraduate Salaries
Econ/Finance
$40,577
Commerce
$38,449
MIS
$45,585
CS
$52,723
Information
Science
$45,182
Computer Eng
$53,924
EE
$52,910
Petroleum
$53,878
English
$31,501
Sociology
$28,812
Psychology
$30,338
History
$30,375
Political Science
$32,744
www.naceweb.org/press/display.cfm/2001/pr071101.htm
Show Me the Money
2002 Undergraduate Salaries
Accounting
$40,293 up 3.2%
Marketing
$35,374 up 1%
Business
$35,209 down 7.1% (14% > 1% consultants)
CS
$50,352 down 3.6 (most
sought-after grads)
Software Eng
$54,922
Information Systems
$41,414 down 7.4%
Chemical Eng
$51,254 steady
Elect Eng
$50.387 down 3.5%
Civil Eng
$40,848 down 1%
Mechanical Eng
$48,654 steady
Liberal Arts
$28,667 down 5.6%
http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=2002&prid=155
http://www.naceweb.org/press/display.asp?year=2002&prid=164
Show Me the Money
2003 Undergraduate Salaries
Accounting
$41,360 up 2.6%
Economics/finance
$40,764 up 1.8%
Business
$36,515 up 3.7% (mostly
sales and mgmt trainee)
CS
$46,536 down 7.6% (sixth
consecutive drop)
Information Systems /
Systems
$39,800 down 3.8%
Chemical Eng
$52,169 up 1.8%
Elect Eng
$50,566 steady
Civil Eng
$41,067 up 0.5%
Mechanical Eng
$48,659 steady
Liberal Arts
$29,543 up 3.1%
Show Me the Money
UVa-specific salary info for 2002-2003
school year
Average Salaries
• CS - $55,000 (max $77,000) – 18 respondents
• Systems - $50,750 – 33 respondents
• Computer Engineering - $54,000 – 9 respondents
• EE - $53,000 – 13 respondents
Is Graduate School for You?
Master’s Degree Benefits
• Better starting salary ($70k)
• Many job openings
• Potential to start at management level
• Opportunity to swap jobs
• More control of day-to-day tasks
Is Graduate School for You?
Master’s Degree Cons
• Still not in charge of project
• 1.5 - 2 years of lost wages (less if paid during school)
• May become bored by repetitive tasks
• May become frustrated by poor employees and lack
of support from upper-level management
Is Graduate School for You?
Ph.D. Degree Benefits
• Better starting salary ($100k+)
• Large amount of control over work
• Opportunity to teach in university
• Management skills assumed
• You’ll be the world’s expert in ________
Is Graduate School for You?
Ph.D. Degree Cons
• 3 - 4 years of income beyond the masters is lost
• Overqualified to make large jumps between fields
• It’s a lot of hard work with few clear paths
Total numbers in grad school
Year 2002 Data From: www.cra.org/statistics/
16,907 BS degrees produced
• 19% women, 3.4% African American, 3.6% Hispanic
7,031 MS degrees produced by top 40
• 26% women, 1.1% African American, 1.2% Hispanic
700 PhDs produced in US
• 18% were women
• Only 9 were African American (1.3%)
• Only 11 were Hispanic (1.6%)
• 45% were international students (50% decline in 2003 GRE takers)
How Do I Apply?
Application packet consists of the following
• Transcript
– Important, but not much you can do about this now…
• Letters of Recommendation
– Important – make or break marginal cases
– Establish relationships with 3 UVa profs now!
• Personal Statement
– Somewhat important – think about what you like
• GREs
– Sanity check only. Subject test is hard, but many do poorly.
How Do I Apply?
Transcript
• Your school’s reputation,
• your grades
• and your courses will speak for themselves
• Schools are sympathetic to GPAs that improve over
time and weaknesses in outside areas
How Do I Apply?
Letters of Recommendation
• These carry a great amount of weight
• Help your letter writer by reminding him/her of
significant interactions you have had
• Help your letter writer by sharing your research
interests so he/she may find ways to write a letter
that complements your personal statement
How Do I Apply?
Contact person at other school
• This is very difficult
• Strike up an email conversation with prof from another
school
• Us profs get many such emails from Chinese and
Indian students
– Don’t sound desperate
– Ask a reasonable question about the professor’s
research – showcase your qualifications
How Do I Apply?
Personal Statement
• This is a great opportunity to stand out
• Research the schools in which you are interested
• Ask professors to explain research areas
• Try to sound like a student with experience,
focus, and initiative
• Don’t limit your choices by writing something that
makes you sound too focused (unless you are)
How Do I Apply?
GRE’s
• General test always required
– General test is like SAT’s but slightly harder
– New for 2002 – Writing Component (true for SATs too!)
 Used to be called analytical section (multiple
choice)
• Subject test frequently required
– Subject test is very detail oriented
• Study! Purchase old tests for practice!
Where Do I Apply
US News and World Report top 20
• Try to upgrade
– UVa grad school is good, but you can probably
do better. Exposure to new school (breadth) is
encouraged unless you’re part of a special
project here already that will make your graduate
experience really valuable here
• Try not to worry about the money
– Most schools have similar packages for their
students. Those who want funding can usually
find it.
Where Do I Apply (US News 2003)
1. Carnegie Mellon University
2. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology
10. California Tech
U. of Wisconsin - Madison
12. Maryland, Georgia Tech
3. Stanford University
14. Brown University, UCLA, Michigan
4. U. of California–Berkeley
17. Rice University, UNC, Penn
5. U. of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign
20. Columbia, Duke, Harvard,
Purdue, UCSD
6. Cornell
7. U. of Texas – Austin
U. of Washington
9. Princeton University
25. UMass – Amherst, Yale
27. U. of Southern Cal, U. of Virginia
29. Hopkins, NYU, Rutgers, SUNYStony Brook, UC-Irvine, Utah
Soapbox (Dave’s Opinion)
Get a Master’s Degree
• You’ll have more control over your day to day tasks and have
a leg up in management
Only get the Ph.D. if you are strongly compelled to
get what it provides
Don’t go to work and think you’ll come back to
school – it’s too hard
Always remember to consider cost of living
adjustments when comparing salaries
• Silicon Valley is expensive
Special Case
Get employer-paid M.S. while working
• Consider quality of school (in NoVa GMU and GWU)
– If you weren’t working, a better school is possible
– A MS degree from GMU might not be worth much to
you if you are capable of CMU (won’t open doors)
• Difficult to work and study – but you’re young and
might not have time committments
• Consider that school will likely pay you too