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Will there be opening jobs in computer science with only having a bachelor’s degree?

My family is pressed about the money for college and I think it would be best to find a job that would only require a bachelor’s degree. Would it make sense for someone who wants a tech job to go for masters? I know it would help but if i had good grades at a 4 year public state university (Stony Brook in New York) is ok with just a bachelors? Any opinion would be appreciated! #computer-science #technical

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Brandi’s Answer

I agree with Ray. A Master's Degree certainly helps for certain jobs, but it is definitely possible to get a job with a Bachelors in CS. Most jobs will hire a college grad in an entry level position and then pay for professional development courses/certs in that field.

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Ray’s Answer

Hello,


Having a masters would definitely give you an advantage over other candidates and if you ever want to move up to management, it's usually recommended. I think it's fine to have a Bachelor IF you continue professional development by taking courses, seminars or even certifications. Hope this helps!

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Daniel’s Answer

I got reasonable grades at a state school (Minnesota, idk how it compares to NY, I'd be surprised if it was much different), with only a bachelor's. It is eminently possible to get a job writing software with just a bachelor's. In fact I would hazard a guess that it is much more common to find employment with just a bachelor's than to have a master's as well (though potentially easier with the master's).


What matters is like what Frank says above - if you can write code that solves problems, that's what you need. Depending on where you end up, you may be able to learn enough on the job that continuing education is not necessary at all.


More important is that while you're in school, you're learning useful skills. Get internships, work in a research lab if you have that as an option. Learn stuff off of coursera or MIT open courses or similar resources. Write a lot of code.

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Frank’s Answer

If you can program or write automated tests I believe you can find a job with just an undergrad degree. As the others have mentioned, though, it will be easier and ultimately more rewarding if you have a Masters Degree. It's also possible to go into the working world for a while, or work on your Masters program in parallel (if your employer supports and encourages it), too. But those approaches will prove more challenging to balance income, time, and priorities. However, it's possible, as that's essentially what happened in my case.

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Chris’s Answer

There are employers that do not require a college degree, and I have worked with many people that do not have a traditional college degree. However, having a college degree does make it a lot easier to get past many resume scanners.

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Chris’s Answer

I only have a bachelor's degree and I've been programming professionally for over a decade now. That being said, I wasn't originally hired as a programmer at my first job. I got an entry-level job on the Production track and moved laterally into programming after a couple years and volunteering to do programming tasks. Certainly not standard, but it worked for me. I know lots of folks with Masters degrees and other than maybe floating their resume up in the stack more when they got hired, it doesn't affect things day-to-day at all.

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