Going back to school?
Hello, Taro community,
Hope everyone is well! I have been working at a mid-size company as a backend SWE for a little more than 2 years post-grad. I graduated with a BS in CogSci with a specialization in ML and a minor in computer science. My company has announced layoffs for Q4, so I want to prepare myself for starting the job hunt. My current goals are to build 1 or 2 side projects, as my resume seems a little sparse with 1 post-grad experience and 1 internship where I don't remember much from the actual project tech-wise. I will also be working on my resume and technical interview prep. In the current market conditions, would my education be a hindrance and would it be better to go for an MSCS as a non-CS degree holder? I understand the skills are most important, but I am worried about getting past the ATS for most jobs. I do see most job postings require a degree in engineering or equivalent experience, but the equivalent experience is expected to be quite high now.
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
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Discussion
(2 comments)- 0
3 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroI think you're fairly well-positioned already:
- 2 years of experience (and if you work at a prestigious company, this will be worth a lot)
- Minor in Computer Science (and if you graduated from a reputable school, this will be worth even more)
Because of this, my initial reaction is to not go back to school. I would just start applying a ton and see what traction you get (do this after sharpening your resume obviously). In particular, track your funnel. If your conversion rate from application -> screening interview is abysmal (<5%), then going back to school could make sense. Otherwise you can just keep going off of your traction and save all the time/money from going back to school.
Another reservation I have is that the companies that hard discriminate on education are often very stringent, requiring a 4-year Computer Science degree. I don't think taking a couple courses here and there will help you that much - You would probably need to do a full degree, which takes a ton of time.
- 03 months agoEng @ Taro
It may be worth it to try to apply for jobs with your current work experience to see how it goes. I can't speak for how recruiters judge resumes, but I stopped looking at the candidate's education after they worked in the industry for a few years. (That being said, by the time the resume got into my hands, it already got through the recruiter's filtering process).
I would try to play up your work experience as much as possible in your resume. Remember that your work experience can take up multiple blocks in your resume. Your degree might take up one line, and it's usually placed lower down in your resume.
