People have asked me why I would do a post-bachelors in computer science (CS)when I could have enrolled in a master’s program in CS instead. At first, I did not have an answer to that question. I merely said that I didn’t realize that enrolling in a master’s program in CS was possible without a bachelor’s degree. However, over time, I have learned that there are particular strengths to going through an undergraduate program in CS before embarking on graduate studies.
First, let’s go over the negatives of a post-bachelors degree program. The cost of doing a bachelor’s instead of a master’s is time. You must repeat a bachelor’s program (even if it is somewhat compressed compared to an average bachelor’s program). As an undergraduate student, you must go through various courses focusing on breadth instead of depth. In addition, while your peers graduate with a master’s degree, you will obtain a bachelor’s degree. In the job market, a master’s degree, on average, does hold more weight than a bachelor’s degree. More and more, the job market is becoming so competitive that it looks like a master’s degree at a prestigious school could be more beneficial.
The final negative is cost. Suppose you want to pursue an advanced degree after a post-bachelor program. In that case, you will be in more debt or have a higher sunken cost because you have to start from a bachelor’s level program.
While there are several weaknesses in a post-bachelor program, the strengths can overshadow the negatives mentioned. The same negative aspect of focusing only on the breadth of coverage in the coursework is also a strength. As a student in the OSU program, I have taken courses covering areas that I would not have otherwise been able to study independently. For instance, programming in C++ in introductory courses alone was beneficial. As an OSU student, I took classes in cloud application development to operating systems. All the courses somehow continued to build my foundation as an aspiring software engineer.
Another benefit of a bachelor’s degree is being in an environment to be kept accountable and where I can build my CS foundation. Courses have actual grades, with instructors keeping the pace of the learning. The structured environment helped push me beyond my comfort zones. Before doing a CS program, learning on my own was mainly floating around the edge of discomfort but never pushing myself beyond it. There wasn’t a score to keep track of or a consequence of accountability.
Time was a cost that I found to be a strength. Having spent years in undergraduate studies has helped me hone my understanding of fundamentals and grow as an engineer. While master’s degree students have an advanced degree, bachelor’s degree students can slowly build a solid foundation in their CS fundamental knowledge. People can learn algorithms on their own and do so for interview prep. Having the time to let the knowledge marinate in my mind over time has helped me to become more confident in becoming a software engineer.
Many other benefits outweigh the cost of a second bachelor’s degree. Everyone wants to spend less money and time to achieve a goal such as getting a software engineer position. My mentors have told me that it is usually best to slow things down when you think you have to do something quickly. What I have experienced at OSU reflects how a slow learning process can be more beneficial. Though my peers graduated with a master’s degree in CS, I am more confident in my ability to become a competent software engineer. It would not have been possible skipping these years in the undergraduate program.
