How I Chose My Masters Degree for Breaking into Data Science

In this video I talk about all of the considerations that went into where I went to school for my masters. I go into how I chose between a masters in computer science and a masters in data science. I also zero in on which schools specifically I applied to, and how I came to my final decision.

I get an avalanche of questions about which masters degree you should do to become a data scientist. People ask me if they should do a masters in data science, statistics, computer science, and the list goes on and on. I also get asked which specific one people should choose. Honestly, I’ve only done one technical masters degree myself, so I don’t think I can get really granular with the specific school choices. Maybe, just maybe if I get enough input from my peers we will make a collab video with our best advice on how to choose a masters degree, since we will have a couple different perspectives.

Every person has a unique situation, and there are some really good reasons and really bad reasons to do a degree. I don’t think a masters makes sense for most people. I talk about the benefits and drawbacks of choosing a masters vs a bootcamp vs a certificate in the video linked above. Since I can only speak from my experience, I figure it could help a lot of people if I walked through some of the considerations I made when pursuing my own masters degree. For the record I have masters in global commerce and one in computer science, but I think the commerce degree is out of the scope of this video, so I won’t really touch on it here.

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[DataProfessor]

That was a great video, Master Ken! Glad you’ve decided to go with DePaul which sets the first event in the domino effect that led you to posting your first video on YouTube 😊

[dipanpatel]

Thank you for being a great mentor Master Master Ken, your advice is constantly helping me alot

[shreyasramani]

I loved the fact that you went to DePaul and started this channel. I'm planning to apply for a masters in DS myself, I've learned a lot about sports analytics on this channel, and I'm hoping to start a channel myself one day :)

[jimaids]

haha... Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken" comes to mind. I'm mighty glad the decision you made seems to be working pretty fine. You keep some of us going, Ken. Keep being awesome.

[wilsonman]

It was most enlightening that a lot of the decision pruning was purely practical (ie: no BCS requirement; missed a deadline and didn't want to wait another year). Good reminder that we don't live in a perfect world; we live in this one.

(... Also, on behalf of the entire community, please accept our humblest apologies for our dire transgressions, Master Master Kenneth Jee.)

[bianchialex]

Side comment you made that I find really interesting. That the education was similar everywhere you went but the students were all different. Part of the reason I want to go to a master's program or top company is to surround myself with different people than my upper middle tier college (Seton Hall). Would love to see a video talking about that it even interview you on the topic.

[user]

Hi Ken, Thank you so much!
I started learning data science 2 years back. but I lost the motivation. Now after following your channel, and watching the inspirational videos and great advice i feel confident to move forward, i am seeking career transition into data science, and you are motivating and helping me to stay on track.

[piyushzope]

Thank you for the information Ken... It will help me to take the decision in the future...

[kyleinseok]

Hi Ken,
Great decision-making process. That's how I am going to decide whether to go to grad school or industry.

[musicalrea]

Both fun and informative video 👍👍Thank you Ken

[muhammadhashir]

Fliping practice is nice. Thanks for showing this and now I will also try this because I also get confused between two things a tone of times.

[mattRRgraham]

Your editing skills have really improved since the start of your channel! This was a really well done video. I'd love to know more about how you do it since I'm considering starting a channel of my own. You have an interesting story and it's cool to see how far this channel has progressed. 100k is coming up! See you in the next vid!

(okay so I was going to insert a peace emoji there at the end of my comment but the menu bar on my macbook's keyboard doesn't seem to want to work today....damn.)

[Epipedobatideo]

When I was starting my Ph.D. in Computational Biology, I discovered Data Science. Now I'm slowly changing my focus to it.
CompBio uses many disciplines and concepts in common with DS, which was a very satisfying discovery when I started to read about DS.
I think it's very nice to be called Master, but man, Doctor Weiss sounds *SO evil scientist* that I couldn't help myself when choosing my path.
It's just what I wanted since I was 4 LOL
But seriously, although I'm just migrating but not there yet, it seems to me that many (or most) areas that include programming and statistics will have a good match in DS.

[ShaikAsad]

Congrats on 100K subs! Love your content.

[chacmool]

Why didn't you choose a master's in Applied Statistics?

I just put in an application for a grad certificate in Applied Stats yesterday. The choice of school was made for me by these factors;
1. No GRE required
2. No recs required
3. Three intakes a year so no waiting till next year
4. Non-exirbitant tuition (under $1, 000 per credit)
5. On-line program

[dallashutchinson]

Hey Ken, great video as always. Your videos have really helped guide me through my journey into data science. So I thank you for that! I'm actually applying to grad schools for next Fall and DePaul's Master's in DS is on the list!

[happyllama]

I was watching your videos to get more information about Data Science but i fell in love with you 🥺😳

[justinhuang]

Man you're just reading my mind lately hahaha 😂 great video as always master master Ken

[byoutekinaeiyuu]

Haha, very true about flipping the coin :)

I was thinking about doing an extra degree in CS, but it takes a lot of time and after I checked the syllabus... many of the courses in the degree cover material I am not at all interested in and will not really be useful in the career I want.

[muhammadhashir]

We wanna see Ken starting a startup.Let's give it a shot ken. And hopefully I will become the vice president of it when it will become a larger company. Haha. Just kidding. By the way your quality of videos is awsome, keep it up