Going back to school, why?
Got accepted into the OMSCS from Georgia Tech back in 2024, and will soon start on it in Jan 2026. Was actually supposed to start on it in Spring 2025 but I deferred it as Emblem pivoted and we were starting from scratch, but that's a story for another time.
My motivations
Lacking knowledge
I've always felt that I don't really have a deep technical expertise in the work that I do. Having technical discussion with colleagues from TikTok made it very clear that my understanding and knowledge in computer science/math can certainly be better.
I tried to work on it through some self-directed learning through books and reading online, but not having a competitive environment and external signals of progress makes it difficult to tell if I'm getting better. I did like my experience in SMU and in school, so I thought that this will be suitable for me.
Doing hard things
I think in life, there is no escaping pain. So you either choose your pain or someone else will choose it for you.
Reading reviews online about the OMSCS program sounds like it does have that depth + difficulty and you know I can never shy away from doing something challenging, especially if I have some interest in it.
Besides, I don't think I've hit my limit in terms of academics yet. At no point in my university life have I felt that something was too hard and unattainable. Maybe this will be the one? I'm not sure yet.
Research
I don't know anything about how research happens, but I did always have some casual interest in it. Hopefully this can give me some experience in it.
What other people say about this
Some of my friends say that it's not really useful career-wise, and that real industry experience is more important. I think that there is some truth to it. The industry does value experience, and from what I see, they do value experience more than qualifications.
My response to it: why not both? I don't think I am sacrificing the industry experience by doing a part-time masters program. Probably sacrificing a little bit of sanity and spare time but I would have found another thing to do either way.
Also, if you really look at what the industry prefers, just look at the profiles of the AI hiring spree, I think most of them are PHDs. Deep technical expertise + the ability to apply it seems like its the right combo.
My goals for the course
- Actually finish it, no matter how long it takes.
- Do the harder courses.
- Have some focus in research.
Who knows, maybe I'll regret it. But I think I'm really pushing to have some bias to action rather than just thinking about it. There is no losing, you either win or you learn.