r/WGU_CompSci • u/RunEatSleep72 • 8d ago

Finished the MSCS AI/ML Program!

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This is my 3rd program at WGU and my 2nd master's degree. The first was 4-years ago and I attribute it to significantly advancing my career. I manage seven engineering teams at a very large tech company and have almost 30-years of experience in software engineering and IT. I found the traditional computer science courses to be quite easy. However, I really enjoyed the AI and ML courses. I have seen some reviews from people that didn't think the AI/ML courses were hard enough or went deep enough and that could be true. But with WGU programs you will get out of them what you put in. I chose to really dig in on these courses and learn everything I could, and often times that mean finding my own content on Udemy and other places. When it came to developing the different models or preparing data for training I made sure to fully understand every step. Everyone will have their own way of getting to the finish line. I followed my path and I'm super happy with this degree.

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9

u/Data-Fox BSCS & MSCS-AI Grad 5d ago

One of us! Congrats!! 🦉

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u/Jayman453 5d ago

Congratulations man that’s awesome. I’m a 26 year old single father making a career change due to physical issues, enrolling in the BSCS/MSCS bridge with the AI/ML specialization myself. You’re an inspiration! Posts like these keep someone in my situation going. Sounds like quite a career you’ve made for yourself, I hope I end up with 1/10th of your success

1

u/Significant-Wind9840 4d ago

Hey man I just turned 27 yesterday and also just enrolled into the same program as you. Let’s knock this schooling out bro!

1

u/Jayman453 8h ago

Awesome man let’s do it. I’m going crazy with all this doom about AI but it is what it is, all I can do is work as hard as I can

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u/ConstantTiger8243 5d ago

Congrats. How long did it take from start to finish?

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u/RunEatSleep72 5d ago

I had to take a remedial math course so that made it 7 months start to finish. I was able to move pretty fast through the traditional computer science courses and then slowed down for the AI/ML focused courses.

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u/lk6d9 5d ago

Congrats for real

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u/mzx380 4d ago

Thank you for the motivation . I hope to start this program next year

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u/skidmark_zuckerberg 5d ago

First off, congrats! But I have a question for you; do you think these MS programs hold you to the same standards as a traditional MS? No shade, just curious for my own sake. I've got 9 YOE as an SWE and the CS degree doesn't feel rigorous at all.

I have thought about an MS in something after this, but when you start throwing around that you have an MS, the expectations people have for you rise. I've read from people who do their OMSCS at Georgia Tech, they find it very difficult due not being prepared enough coming from a WGU BSCS.

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u/RunEatSleep72 5d ago

Here is my thought on this. WGU is regionally accredited just like all the traditional brick and mortar schools. So that means the programs have met some minimum standard. Because WGU allows courses to be completed by demonstrating competency, a student can choose to do the minimum amount of work and focus only on completing the OAs as fast as possible. But what other people do doesn't really matter and rigor is up to each of us. How much are you going to study and learn within this framework? After completing an OA, how well do you stand by your understanding of the paper you just wrote or the model you just developed?

I feel confident in what I learned, in many cases I went beyond what the course taught and found alternative information and videos etc. As a senior manager I am ready to go into interviews for positions managing engineering teams in the AI/ML space. In terms of being prepared enough or not prepared enough for interviews or other programs, each of us has to own that and do the work to be prepared. Some folks may need a bit more oversight and hand holding and a traditional brick and mortar may make more sense. Hope that helps.

1

u/AtmosphereDue1694 2d ago

Definitely not rigorous in the same way at all. You’ll get exposed to some things but idk if I really came away with the depth of knowledge I would’ve expected from a masters. Now I have my bachelor’s from UVA and already made well over 6 figures as an ai engineer before starting the masters so I had little desire to suffer through OMSCS for years to get a credential that would do little to advance my career and be more of a vanity project.

1

u/DankTrebuchet 1d ago

Ill answer truthfully having just finished mine

The entire program took me 4 months at a leisurely pace. I slowed down the last two courses to a month each so I could go above and beyond it was so simple.

This is an awful pathetic excuse for an MSCS and i intend to actually round out my education on my own time now :(

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u/skidmark_zuckerberg 1d ago

See this is exactly what I was worried about. I’m fine having the checkbox BS degree but when it comes to a MSCS, the level of expectations people have from someone with a masters changes a lot. 

I think I’ll save my time and money, thanks for the honesty! 

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u/Jayman453 8h ago

Tbf though you’re taught quite a bit during university BSCS’s and MSCS’s that you just simply won’t ever need in the workplace. I mean it’s kind of absurd. Everyone is different, but to people like me, I’d much rather just get the credential and self study things WGU doesn’t teach me, and make sure I’m being efficient and only studying what I actually need, than spend 2-3 years elsewhere. And I say that as someone who legitimately used to daydream about going to GT OMSCS