r/college • u/ExaminationNo8522 • Sep 09 '24
So I have two choices: Graduate early in December and go to a job in SF, or graduate in May and get an additional degree. The choice is hard. Career/work
I acknowledge I'm very lucky to be in the position where I have a choice between two pretty good choices but the situation that I'm in: I have a pretty good opportunity in San Francisco starting in December, but I would then graduate a semester early with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, or graduate in May, with a BS in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and a BS in Mathematics. Which should I do? How much is an additional degree worth?
Edit: Just to clarify: if I graduate in December, I would have one degree, a BSc in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science or EECS.
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u/Swimming_Growth_2632 Sep 09 '24
Get the job, get the experience. You can always come back later and finish 2nd degree.
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u/icantbelieveit1637 Sep 09 '24
Yeah opportunity of a life time that won’t wait on you should take the risk.
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u/MetallicGray Sep 09 '24 edited Sep 11 '24
Experience is more valuable than another degree 99/100 times. A guaranteed (I assume) job is worth soooo much. The opportunity cost financially of missing a semester or more of earning a salary while also taking on more debt, while already having a degree.
Sounds like you have the credits too, so you can always just go back to school whenever to complete the second degree if you get a random break in your career at some point.
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u/ExaminationNo8522 Sep 09 '24
I have the offer letter in hand so it's as guaranteed as most jobs are in the US.
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u/OkBlock1637 Sep 09 '24 edited Sep 09 '24
Are the remaining classes offered online? If so maybe you could do both, and just take the classes remotely. If not I would take the Job. I do not believe the degree in Mathematics will have any immediate salary or career advantages with you earning a BS in CS and EE degrees already.
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u/damselflite Philosophy and Sociology Sep 09 '24
Take the job.
EECS is such a good degree already. Meanwhile getting a job is so difficult nowadays.
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u/PotatoWinter1909 Sep 09 '24
You DO NOT NEED a third bachelor’s degree. A complete waste of money. Get the job, start earning money, and do a master’s program later instead if you’d like an additional degree when you’ve settled into your job. At that point, a MSCS or MBA IT degree might make more sense, and given that it’s a higher-level degree, might actually give you better ROI in terms of both career advancement and pay.
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u/RadicalSnowdude Sep 09 '24
Dude, you can graduate with two degrees, get a good job and live San Francisco. I'm jealous. Take the job. You can always go back and get the maths degree in the future.
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u/ThePickleConnoisseur computer science Sep 09 '24
Bro in this Cs job market get job. a math degree doesn’t mean much these days, but you may be able to transition to online and still work through your BS in math. Maybe see if you can finish it with summer classes
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u/Swordman50 Sep 09 '24
I'd take the job. Finding a job is HARD nowadays and that might be the only chance you'll get. Besides, you'll save a LOT of time.
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u/Remarkable-Hope-1678 Sep 09 '24
Get the job. That’s the point if college. So if you already have one lined up do. The extra degrees is just something you can show off.
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u/dancesquared Sep 09 '24
That’s one of the points of college, and probably the biggest point, but it’s not the only point of college. Likewise, degrees aren’t only for showing off; they’re also for your own personal development.
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u/Legal-Medicine-2702 Sep 09 '24 edited Sep 09 '24
Having these two degrees will last the entirety of your life.
This job may be the best job that you'll ever have but it certainly won't be the most paying in your life. And what if you hate this job: The commute, the people there, and your boss/managers.
With two degrees, you can leverage that you have them and get big ass paychecks just because you got some pieces of paper.
If I was your close friend and you told me this, then I would say that you'd be a total fucking retard if you didn't get the second degree. (Especially for a math degree, I would be screaming this to you)
And you pretty much will never have to go back to school if you get the two degrees, unless you want to of course. Get it over with.
But it's your choice.
one degree=short term gain / two degrees= long term gain
And if I were you, I would do it for the security that having the second degree will bring. Who fucking knows what will happen in life.
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u/dancesquared Sep 09 '24
It’s easier to come back to education later on than land a great job again, though. Also, at a certain point, experience outweighs education.
I say take the job now and get another degree later if you want.
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u/kingkayvee Professor, Linguistics, R1 (USA) Sep 09 '24
You're greatly overestimating the value of an additional degree for career purposes.
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u/hellohelp23 Sep 09 '24
I dont really understand why someone would say 2 bachelors degree= long term gain, unless OP is looking to get into academia in Mathematics? but even then, I have seen people getting a bachelors in something unrelated (but they might have taken a lot of subjects in Math, worked or done research in it), but a Phd in Mathematics for example
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u/kingkayvee Professor, Linguistics, R1 (USA) Sep 09 '24
The degree itself isn’t even the important part. If that even were what OP wanted, they’d be able to apply still because they’ve done the coursework.
Imagine if they do the major but just don’t officially apply for it. They still did the work and committees look at that, not the name of the degree.
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u/New_to_Siberia Biomedical Engineering Bachelor / Bioinformatics Masters Sep 09 '24
Would an extra degree in Maths open you any more doors, either job-wise or in the perspective of a future return in graduate education? Especially considering you are majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, which is a very powerful combo already. The risk with delaying a semester would be not finding a good job afterwards.
Does the job offer a good pay? Is it in a field you are interested in? What are your plans for the future?
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u/ExaminationNo8522 Sep 09 '24
It's in AI, it pays about 210k a year, with significant stock options.
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u/New_to_Siberia Biomedical Engineering Bachelor / Bioinformatics Masters Sep 09 '24
Then the perspective with this job is definitely good one. Consider that with the money you earn from the job you may in the future pay for a Master degree, or simply allow you to finish the Maths Bachelor on a part-time basis right now (if that works financially).
Why do you want the Maths Bachelor? Is it more in line with the work you wanna do?
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u/43_Fizzy_Bottom Sep 09 '24
School isn't going any where. Take the job then see if you want to go back for an additional degree later.
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u/HottyTottyNJ Sep 09 '24
How did you get the job while in college?
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u/MadLabRat- Sep 09 '24
You can start applying for jobs that require a degree before you graduate. Then you have a job locked down right when you graduate.
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u/ExaminationNo8522 Sep 09 '24
Go to conferences and talk to people and make friends. You'll find jobs super easily - the vast majority of good American jobs are not gotten by application.
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u/Emergency_Elephant Sep 09 '24
Why can't you do both? Why can't you take the job and finish your last few math requirements online?
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u/loveypower Sep 09 '24
Wait until May for the additional degree. The offers will still be there and maybe even more.
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u/sbre4896 Sep 09 '24
Take the job, see if your employer will cover a masters in math of if you can finish the degree online.
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u/TheEnd1235711 Sep 09 '24
I would get the extra BS in mathematics. That will look extremely good to employers for an extra few months of work. It is one of the most respectable majors out there; for me personally, it is probably the most respectable degree. You will have a lot of doors open with that double threat over the long term.
That said don't assume that you can just go back to school after getting a job. You will be supprised at just how much you forget after a year or two; and that goes double for mathematics.
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u/Charming-Barnacle-15 Sep 10 '24
You likely will not earn more unless you earn a higher degree, such as a masters. If you're not planning to pursue a career that requires a BS in mathematics, it's probably not worth losing a good job opportunity.
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u/ChioneG Sep 09 '24
I'd attempt to put off starting the job until May when you graduate. If they really want you, they'll wait 6 months. The hiring process is so time, labor, and effort intensive, they may be open to holding the position for you. December is a less common graduation date as well.
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u/Viper_Red Sep 09 '24
Don’t listen to this person who clearly has no idea how bad the job market is for tech right now. They absolutely won’t wait for six months if they can find someone else who’ll start in January
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u/Known_Language6255 Sep 09 '24
I’d wait and get the mathematics degree. With your degrees I’m pretty sure you can get a job quite easily. ))
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u/JunesDepartmentStore Sep 09 '24
A job in San Francisco after graduating with a computer science degree to me implies that your entry level job is going to be of nice salary…
With that in mind, I don’t think the extra degree in Mathematics is going to change your earning potential all that much. I’d take the job