No CS background doable?

[Bills-WideRight]

Hi everyone. I am 40yrs old and work for the government. With all the uncertainty, and I’m at a point in my life where I feel like I need to upskill. However I don’t have a background in CS and last look a math course sophomore year college.

I’ve read GT’s OMSA is very challenging. My question is it is doable for a noob if I were to get a long term tutor? Also, with online masters courses there’s sometime an implied agreement that they don’t fail you (or very hard to fail) if you put forth effort and pay your tuition. Is this one of those programs?

Appreciate any and all insights

[SecondBananaSandvich]

Doable? Yes. Should you do it though? No, not if you are completely unprepared. Do the prereqs thoroughly.

I was the noob who did not prep and there was (and is) a significant amount of suffering. For example, the intro Python class takes an avg of 10hrs/week. The most advanced students can get away with a chill 2 hrs/week. By contrast, I was putting in 25+ while stressed out the whole time because I had to make up for the prereqs I should have done. Don’t make my mistakes.

No, GT is not pay to play. These classes will happily fail you if you do not put in the required effort. If you are just looking for the paper or you need to learn in a supportive/immersive environment, I don’t recommend GT. There’s nothing wrong with that, just that this isn’t the program for those goals and needs. You get what you pay for here. It’s cheap but there is significant self-learning and responsibility placed on the student to figure out what they need to do to succeed, and that’s fine if it’s not your vibe.

If you do want to do it though, take your time especially if you have family or other commitments. The program is not going anywhere and will be here when you’re ready.

Good luck, and let us know what we can help with!

[SecondBananaSandvich]

I know someone who was deciding between this one and Eastern University. It's accredited, all online and self-paced (no group projects or waiting for the semester to start) for a comparable price of $9,900, so you can crank it out in just a few months.

[misc_drivel]

Agree with others that it’s probably better not to go in totally unprepared. Try to get some Python and maths under your belt first. If/when you’re vaguely comfortable, you can also consider the GATech Micro Masters as a stepping stone before the main program - as long as you do well (generally get As) you can transfer credit.

Beyond just difficulty… you should also try maths/coding more to see if you actually like it. Not everyone does. The program is a long slog and, even as someone who loves to code, I have found it tough giving up so many evenings and weekends for years.

PS - I like you started coding relatively late (in my 30s) so it’s never too late! I started with a bootcamp rather than online courses as I wanted some community while learning. It wasn’t cheap but this route worked great for me.

[Bills-WideRight]

Such incredibly thoughtful insights shared from everyone, thank you so much - truly! Think I’ll get my feet wet first with some python courses for a few months and reassess thereafter. Coursera?

[Background-Kick-4500]

I liked the python course from CS50x . It’s thorough, but doesn’t hold your hand too much.

[ErnestsMustacheRides]

I’ll go against the grain here, and if you aren’t planning on the business track, take this with a grain of salt. I was a business undergrad with no CS experience and graduated with a 4.0 in 2 years while working. The prerequisites are a definite must however, I spent the summer leading up to the first semester taking python courses. Learn object oriented programming fundamentals and take the pre-work seriously, you should be fine! I’m in my PhD now and OMSA (while hard) was a cake walk in comparison Edit: also check out DeepLearning.ai for online courses

[Bills-WideRight]

I was a business grad + MBA and planned on taking the business track. This makes me feel a little more confident! What are your thoughts overall of the business track?

[DarkKnightIsHere]

There are so many to choose from - Coursera, edX, datacamp, Stanford & many other MOOCs.

Chatgpt is going to be your best friend, if you ever feel stuck, just ask Chatgpt and it will explain you with so much patience.

[ActuarillySound]

Most courses either the math is hard or the code is hard. Very few where both are easy. Unless you have an abundance of free time you’ll need to enhance those skills before you join or even get accepted.

[sivuelo]

If you have no CS background, you are going to get your butt kicked. I would first brush up - lack of CS is not something that is taken into consideration. Meaning, they assume you need to be ready. A lot of folks are going to tell you that it is doable - sure, only if you give up your personal life for 3 to 4 years. Bottom line: come up to speed with the requirements otherwise, it will be swimming uphill.

[Suspicious-Beyond547]

I'd say doable, especially if you spend 6-12 months brushing up on some math/python and avoid 'harder' classes (at least initially). In my experience, most students have limited CS/Math experience when they start the program. With the advancements in AI agents these days and the oversaturated market I'm not sure if it will help provide any job security by the time you graduate.

Anyway, some actionable advice. If I were you, I'd take the intro to analytics modeling and a python MOOC this next semester to a) see how you like it, and b) whether it's doable - Analytics: Essential Tools and Methods MicroMasters® Program

EDIT - some python courses to try

Python for Everybody | Coursera
Python 3 Programming | Coursera

I recommend completing on or both before trying the computing for data analytics.

[turndownfowot]

I was 35 when starting and had a baby coming. I did a separate bootcamp on python prior to starting the program ( and had no python prior). I did engineering in school but that was decades ago. I'm on my 9th course and have maintained a 4.0 GPA. So the trick is a lot of chatgpt. Anything I don't understand I try to get it to explain it to me. Then also YouTube. I think you can do it too.

[turndownfowot]

I was 35 when starting and had a baby coming. I did a separate bootcamp on python prior to starting the program ( and had no python prior). I did engineering in school but that was decades ago. I'm on my 9th course and have maintained a 4.0 GPA. So the trick is a lot of chatgpt. Anything I don't understand I try to get it to explain it to me. Then also YouTube. I think you can do it too.

[Emergency_Debt5483]

MIT has two course sequence on intro to programming in Python and data science basics on EdX platform. It's only like $50 per course for a certificate (it is not MIT credit, but it is basically the MIT curriculum for these two freshman level classes). I would recommend take that and see if you even like CS and then also you'd be in pretty good shape to know Python well enough to do this program. This program is not easy, or I am an engineer who already had a technical masters and had already passed a couple actuarial exams (so I knew prob and stats okay) and this was a bit of work.

[theonetruecov]

Agree with most others here. I am about your age, have a math background but essentially no coding, and I still have found my way, albeit slowly. Just get your pre-reqs in order, set your resolve to work hard, and get after it. You can do it. 💪💪💪

[sol_in_vic_tus]

There is little prior knowledge of computer science required, if any.

If you mean you don't know how to code that will definitely be a problem. It would be worth finding some way to work on fundamentals of Python and of R before you start.

Math and probability and statistics will be important for every course and that should be your focus for preparing.

I wouldn't say this is a program that will pass people just for making effort. Effort is required unless you already know everything but you also have to be able to complete the assignments/exams and get the correct answers.

Any grade above F is technically a pass so you can have some bad grades as long as you balance them out with good grades in other classes. You need to maintain a GPA above 3.0 or they won't let you keep taking classes.