By Ellen Veomett

“So, do you think it was worth it?” This is the number one question I get when I mention to friends or colleagues that, 15 years after getting my PhD in math, I decided to get a Master’s degree in Computer Science.  This is a very straightforward question, to which I have a similarly straightforward answer: yes. But immediately after that question I frequently get the follow-up: “Is it something you’d recommend?” And my answer to that is much more complicated. I got a Master’s in Computer Science for two big reasons.  And I think I might only recommend it for one of those reasons.

My first main reason for getting a Master’s degree in Computer Science was to benefit my current career trajectory as a Professor of Mathematics. This benefit to my current career involved both research and teaching. My research had taken a computational turn; for the past 5 years or so I’ve focused on the mathematical and computational aspects of redistricting and detecting gerrymandering. On a basic level, I wanted to become more adept at writing and reading code. I knew that taking classes involving coding would help to achieve that goal. I also wanted to learn new computational techniques, in the hopes that they would allow me to more creatively expand into my new field of research.

Beyond my research, the CS Master’s would benefit my current career by allowing me to teach more CS courses. My department was a joint Math/CS department, and we had always been in need of more faculty to teach additional CS courses. This sounded like fun to me, but I knew that I needed to do more learning in order to be a more effective and successful teacher.

If you’re considering getting a Master’s in Computer Science, and this is your main reason (to benefit your research and teaching), I think I wouldn’t recommend it. My reasons are not surprising: time and expense. I have two elementary-aged kids, and did not want the pursuit of a Master’s to interfere with my ability to be a good parent. So I decided to complete an online Master’s (through the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), and I took a year’s long sabbatical to complete it. And I paid for my degree out of my own pocket. All of this was time-consuming and expensive. If your institution funds a long sabbatical and a Master’s degree, then this might make your calculus different. But there are alternatives to getting a Master’s. In preparing to begin my Master’s degree, I took many courses on Coursera and discovered that there are a number of great courses on a huge variety of topics. The cost of a Coursera subscription is clearly less than the cost of a Master’s degree, and the timing is incredibly flexible. I would recommend something like Coursera over an online Master’s degree for someone focused on their current career.

But there was another reason that I got my Master’s degree. I’ve been anxiously observing the ups and downs (mostly downs) of the academic market in recent years. I had concerns that my job would change (had been changing?) enough that I wouldn’t like it anymore. I love research and I love teaching; I love being an academic. I decided to earn the bona fides that would allow me to apply to both math and CS academic positions. I had seen others with a PhD in a technical field (like math) and a Master’s in Computer Science land academic positions in CS departments; I suspected that having this rubber stamp would make it more likely for a CS department to consider hiring me.

Based on my experience, I would recommend getting a Master’s in CS for the purpose of a career shift. It did work for me: I am now an Associate Professor in a Computer Science department, at a school with more stable finances. And it worked for others in my Master’s program trying to advance into careers adjacent to their current career.  The vast majority of my peers were people working in computational arenas, wanting to break into a new field (mostly Machine Learning). They needed the Master’s to make that shift. And I met at least one other math professor who wanted to switch into industry entirely; he was also successful in making the switch.

Of course, there are many other aspects of a Master’s degree that are worth considering, and may make it worth the time and cost. If you have the time and ability to do an in-person degree, no online courses compare to an in-person experience. And even with an online Master’s degree, the ability to work with other students on extended projects is an enormous benefit that one doesn’t get from courses such as those on Coursera. Honestly, there’s no motivation like a final grade in order to push a student to do their best. (Or maybe I’m just too grade-focused?).

Regardless of your ultimate goal, and regardless of the subject you’re interested in studying, I hope you do take those courses or get that degree. I’ve never regretted learning something new; that, at least, is something I’ll always recommend.

Ellen Veomett earned her PhD in Mathematics from the University of Michigan, and her background is in Combinatorics and Discrete Geometry. Her recent research focuses on mathematical and computational techniques to detect gerrymandering, and she is generally interested in notions of algorithmic fairness. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Computer Science department at the University of San Francisco.