A Master’s in Computer Science is an excellent investment, as long as the student has appropriate work experience and career plans. Read on to learn how a master’s degree in computer science will benefit your career and life.

Why Get a Master’s Degree in Computer Science?

There are many reasons why a master’s degree will help your career. First, a master’s degree is the best way to access better employment opportunities. This is because the minimum requirement for managerial or upper administrative positives is very often a master’s degree. Bear in mind that advanced positions involve more duties and be responsibilities, which equates to better benefits and compensation. As a result, the student will experience better long-term career advancement and higher earning potential.

To be sure, a master’s in computer science all but guarantees a higher salary. Research repeatedly shows that master degree holders earn more than bachelor degree holders, sometimes even up to 30 percent. There are also non-monetary reasons why students pursue a master’s degree. First, a master’s program will challenge the student and enhance personal and academic growth. Second, a master’s degree will also add credibility to the holder because graduate coursework requires persistence, organization and intellectual acumen.

The Competitive Job Market

From an HR perspective, higher education often translates to higher competency and reliability. For example, HR professionals in large technology companies usually lack technical training, so they rely more on education to examine a candidate’s worth. However, HR managers in smaller technology companies will most likely have past experience as part of a technical team. They may even have studied computer science before they transitioned to HR. Therefore, they may lean towards work experience, but the candidate will have the opportunity to discuss and demonstrate their expertise and skills.

Any student with a bachelor’s degree who wants to advance their career into supervision or administration will need to have a master’s degree. However, students who wish to specialize in an advanced computer science field will also need a master’s degree. Sometimes, a non-computer science employee will need a master’s degree in computer science in order to transition into the IT world. Finally, a master’s degree in computer science will also give recent computer science graduates a competitive edge in the job market. Either way, the master’s degree will expand and deepen the student’s marketable skills and knowledge.

Degree Program Specializations

Many computer science master’s degree programs provide interesting academic options. For example, some degree programs focus on the fields of business, finance or education. Other computer science degree programs offer technical specializations. This includes networking, data analytics, multimedia, cloud computing, computational intelligence, information security and database systems. To illustrate, students who specialize in data analytics will learn about data mining, artificial intelligence, machine learning and digital image processing.

A media specialization will teach the student about computer animation, game development and 3D computer graphics. Information security is one of the most common specializations for students who want to work in either the public or private sectors. This program will train the student on network, system and computer security. There will also be classes on cryptography and advanced database organization.

A master’s degree will expand the student’s leadership, administrative and technical skills. A Master’s in Computer Science will allow the student to work in a lucrative career, such as software engineer, developer or architect.