A masters in software enginering.

Hey my name Lasse and I'm 17y old. So first of i dont know if this is the right place to post this but you guys have always helped me out so i was hoping you could help me one more time. The time has come for me to make one of the most important desicions in my life as of yet, my education. I'm going to university next year and i was thinking about going for a master in software enginering since i would love to design and develop programs. I really like programming and that is why my hobby is making games in unity. But software enginering is one of the hardest courses you can follow here in belgium. My parents don't believe i can succed and neither does anyone i know really. This is mostly because i slept through high school not because i was lazy but because it was to easy and it didnt intrest me. Im second of my class and the guy who is first is my best friend i'll never bead him xD. Im pretty smart (130 IQ) i'm good at math and i like programming.

So my question is, is there anyone here who has such a diploma or maybe someone from the unity team and can tell me a little bit about it or give me some advise. Since i could really use some. No body thinks i can do this am i just dreaming a bit to much or is it really possible for me?

 

I would say that is a good sign. Those that are lazy because it is boring in high school are the ones that have no problems. Those that already had to work in high school are normally those that have to work hard to do it.

Being good in maths is the most important for a MSc in CS (at good schools). That you can code already will make it even easier.

 

I don't know much about school in Belgium so a bit hard to make comparisons but here is some food for thought:

• Do you want to stay and work in Belgium or do you wish to move abroad in the future?
• What kind of software development? I guess "games" when you ask in these forums but better anyways.
• What do you want to specialize in as a software developer? Only the games industry got, probably more then 30 specializations for programmers.
• What is the most fun to develop in games for you?
• What are your strongest points as a game developer? (hopefully the stuff that is fun for you)
• If you want to make games, remember that Design != Programming. They are two completely different professions with different requirements, skill-sets etc...
• Is there any game development, specialized schools in your country that got a good reputation?

There are lots of different backgrounds among game developers... A degree that is as close as you can get to the specialization that you want to work with is a good start. Time left after homework is also a good time to work on your portfolio. Remember that you have to impress your future employer enough for a discussion to start and they will compare you to the other people at the company.

If you got an example of a position at some company that you dream about reaching, then that would help a lot to give you a more realistic description of what to expect.

 

I failed 3 years high school, it doesn't mean much. If high school folks were unsociable then we'd skip and play sports all day. University in Belgium is generally much cheaper in US so you are fortunate.

IQ is OK but I know a lot of people with high IQs. It's really: do you enjoy your job more so than IQ make you capable.

In US it's not big deal to start in one major and then change majors, maybe even 2 or 3 times but most generally don't go to grad school right after undergrad unless they are invited by a professor. Today is different in US grad school because universities try to make money by making grad school like an extension of undergrad school but it's not wise too unless invited by professor because then they make arrangements to make grad school free for you.

You should skip thoughts of grad school unless you know you want a Ph.D. Also, it's a bit early in your field to think of such things. If you were saying you wanted to be a medical doctor that requires Ph.D. it's be different but a Master's in CS isn't appreciably more difficult or advanced than your junior & senior years getting your CS undergrad degree.

...but if you would like a fast track to a good bank job or job with Amazon in Luxembourg then Masters will help.

 

You sound a lot like me! Hell my name is even Lasse

Until i started my University education school bored the crap out of me. Didn't have a hard time graduating but my grades wasn't the best.

Now lets fast forward 6 years. I am currently writing my master thesis (Monte Carlo Tree Search AI in stochastic multiplayer environments) while working for a smaller game company. The master i am taking is Game Technology (software dev. with focus on games) at the IT University of Copenhagen. I finished my bachelor with top grades and will do the same with my master.

So if you like programming then go for it!

 

Thanks guys for the good advise!

No i dont want to make games but rather software and i would prefer to do something involving internet or server. And when i say desgin sofware i mean i want to be the one who makes the plans about we will make this piece of software.

 

For Poker?

 

I did an M.Sc. in Software Design & Development, which is a conversion degree that NUI Galway aims at people who don't have a background in IT (mine is in physics). It involved some programming - it's a bit hard to design software without some programming knowledge - but it also included a course on software engineering methods that, while a little tedious, was quite useful.

I only graduated in November, but I've started using my degree to help design my games (and other software), and being able to point to a few projects probably helped me get a job. Okay, it started just last Monday (5th of January), but hey, I need to start somewhere, right?

So, I would say "Go for it".

 

No a 4 player real-time shooter. Works surprisingly well with estimates and abstractions of your game world.

 

Thanks man i appreciate the advise.

 

Excellent post @StarGamess ! Since I've no clue what opportunities are available to you, I'll try to give you some generalized thoughts.

First, make a plan, and soon. Find every software firm in your area...places you can visit in person. Contact their Human Resources (HR) departments soon (don't wait until summer break is upon you) and ask if you could visit, get a part-time summer job doing any lower-skill function, like documenting code or testing their products. Offer to work for lower wages for the exposure and experience. Compensation comes in many forms, not just the Euro, and often with greater value, if for no other reason than experience can never be taken from you. I'm in my 40's, but management and customer skills I learned 30 years ago at a fast food restaurant stay with me and shape my leadership style even today. Take advantage of this time living at home without serious bills and/or responsibilities (a bit presumptuous on my part, but hopefully not too far off the mark). Be willing to learn all aspects of the software design lifecycle, how collaboration functions efficiently, how teams work together, bringing a broad spectrum of skills and personalities and experience to the table. Ask to sit in on team meetings, even if you're not doing anything for the project and have nothing to contribute, just to listen and observe. Remember your place, that the professionals that work there are years ahead of you and highly talented. Be a sponge!

Second, stop playing hookie. Grow some maturity and make good decisions. This would seem to be your senior high school year, so make the most of it, because it's not just your transcript that will gain traction with an employer or university. Attendance, completed work, letters of reference from your teachers, extra-curricular involvement...it all counts, it's all on record, and it all matters. If you're breezing through the regular classes, seek out advanced classes that will challenge you and make you earn it. Employers aren't looking for drones...they've plenty of those. They're looking for stars with potential, so you better look like one!

Workplace exposure will likely go a long way toward driving your choices in university, and will help you refine your goals and by extension your curriculum. When you get to university, you should have an interview with a school counselor of some sort. Share with them your summer experiences, and what you got out of them. Often those in the industry can tell you which specialties are in need, what education requirements they have, and what the compensation is generally like.

Finally, keep the big picture in view and keep focused on your goals. Don't let the goals tunnel you in, such that you cannot be flexible in terms of path or opportunities that may present themselves, but maintain a commitment to where you want to be and what you want to be doing and what you want your life to look like 4, 10, 20 years from now.

Last thing...start planning for retirement now. Seriously. At this stage that means don't make bad choices that will cost you financially for years. Stay away from drugs, crime, and don't make unplanned babies. 'Nuf said.

 

If your education system is the equivalent to the rest of the world you have to do a bachelors degree first. You can always decide to do or not to do a masters or PhD after that.

Choosing the hardest degree programme you are capable of and interested in is good advice. Higher entrance barriers generally translate wages.

You should also check out the other engineering programmes as well. Many of them are just as challenging, or more challenging, then software engineering.

 

You say software engineering is one of the hardest courses you can follow in Belgium. Do you mean for people who suddenly decide at age 18 that they want to program computers, with no previous experience?

I ask because I found computer programming classes pretty easy. The only easier class I took in college was statistics. But then, I'd already been programming at home for 8 years for fun by the time I took a college programming class. I'm sure that helps quite a bit. And I was also bored with high school - but I didn't play hookie, I just graduated 6 months early and started college immediately after . Now I never got my degree (only went to college for 2 years), but I find it fairly hard to believe that *any* computer class (that I satisfied prerequisites for) would challenge me. Even on the higher levels. That stuff always just "clicked" for me. Hopefully it's similar for you.

It sounds like you have some experience programming too, and are smart. I don't think you'd have any problems getting that degree if you want it enough. I say go for it!

My controversial thought on math: in high school they always said I had to take crazy amounts of math if I wanted to work in CS. So I took Calculus and stopped there. However, in my programming jobs over the last 14 years I've never used any math higher than basic algebra. The last 4 years of math are now mostly forgotten. Was I lied to? I'm not sure exactly what that was about.

 

I think it might be something to do with understanding binary and hexadecimal, mainly so people can understand how a computer works. Also, being able to understand and learn how to use calculus might help with problem-solving skills, which definitely helps with programming or software engineering.

 

Possibly, yeah. Even the binary and hexadecimal stuff is only marginally useful today in programming though. Not like it used to be.

Problem solving skills really are the key (along with architecture) to being a great programmer. So maybe

 

Its becoming the same across most branches of engineering. Once upon a time you had to sit down and do all of the math by hand on a piece of paper. So math was highly emphasised. Now almost every math problem you need to solve has a tool to do the job built already.

Its still good to have a basic understanding of the math, its nice to have a gut feel for if the tool is doing its job properly, and to be able to fix it when it goes wrong. But most engineers I know these days (myself included) couldn't solve a differential without looking it up.

It used to be really important. The education system normally takes a decade or so to catch up to what is currently important

 

I like that explanation. Sounds like it might be right Not like I hated math, I quite enjoyed it. I just wish I remembered a lot more by actually using it after high school.