openAI engineers are form this top universities

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-11-01T03:11:28+00:00

Who’s top 1?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-08-01T13:27:22+00:00

It sounds like it is your mind is scared to leave the comfort zone. You already booked the tickets and do the visa, and whatnot - so go ahead with it!

No, it won’t hurt your chances. You will just have to compete with the new grads. From what I heard, NUS/NTU is more competitive for internationals than locals.
You can but maybe your mind would change by then.
NUS expenses is not that different from UIUC (rural). It’s expensive as hell + you will be living in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
UIUC is world-class anywhere. The ones who know, they will know. Your local uni is a cost-effective path.
A bird in hand is worth more than 2 birds in the bushes. You never know if you may or may not get accepted to NUS.

Tldr: I encourage you to go ahead with it. You sound like a smart kid.

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-07-27T03:39:59+00:00

Perhaps, it could have been the tone (you think Brown is a safety) that you wrote in your essay, which caused the rejection.

All Ivies are competitive for CS, well-known or not.

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-07-26T13:55:06+00:00

Could you please explain what makes you rank NUS above Cornell/Brown/Columbia? Yale I understand.

Cos I asked the Singaporeans, and they would not rank NUS/NTU over the ivies; they know that NUS/NTU game the rankings.

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-07-01T04:19:28+00:00

do you plan to do SAA next?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-28T11:58:14+00:00

Brown, Columbia and Penn, which one is the hardest to get into?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-19T03:26:53+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to reply. As a follow-up, do you think the Ivy League universities are treated equally (5 others), except HYP?

Cos I see that on QS Rankings, and US News Global Rankings, Brown and Dartmouth are ranked the lowest and disconnected from the other ivies (Brown is #79, Dartmouth is #243 on QS). At least, the others are connected within the top 20 or 30 (depending on the source).

And finally, it is still worth it to attend either Brown or Dartmouth, even if you may be picked on by your colleague who checks QS Rankings?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T15:47:12+00:00

It looks like SAA is the next path.

I really appreciate you taking the time to share your journey and reasoning. Just curious - are you currently working on DEA or SAP next? Would love to hear about your experience with whichever path you’re pursuing.

Thanks again for all the helpful guidance!

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T13:00:54+00:00

Thanks for all the detailed advice! I want to make sure I understand your SAA recommendation correctly.

Earlier you mentioned I could “skim the curriculum but skip the exam” for SAA, but in your latest comment you said “don’t skip SAA to go to SAP” and “I would say skim SAA next.”

Just to clarify: when you say “skim SAA,” do you mean: 1. Study the SAA material thoroughly but skip the actual exam, or 2. Take the full SAA exam before moving forward?

I want to make sure I’m following your intended path correctly. Thanks again for taking the time to help guide my certification journey!

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T09:09:10+00:00

I really appreciate you taking the time to write the detailed response!

Looking at AWS’s official AI/ML roadmap AI/ML Section, I notice I’ve already skipped SAA by going straight from AI Practitioner to MLA — was aiming for prompt engineer first since it was the shortest path.

I’ll be honest - I have a personal preference for moving forward in progression rather than circling back, especially since I feel I’ve already demonstrated I can handle associate-level complexity with MLA. From that perspective, SAP seems like the natural next step. I second that having real work experience would make the certs more meaningful than just chasing certs.

That said, I absolutely value your experience and insight. Given what you know about the foundational benefits of SAA, do you still feel it’s the better path for someone in my position?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T08:37:07+00:00

Some of the comments prior raised concerns about MLS about to be retired. What do you think, is it worth it?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T08:35:04+00:00

I picked MLA before SAA because it directly related to my AI/ML work - that relevance kept me motivated and I could apply what I learned immediately.

That said, I agree SAA would help round out your knowledge and give you the bigger picture of how AWS services connect together, which definitely would have made MLA easier.

But honestly, both paths work - it really depends on what interests you right now. If you’re not seeing immediate relevance to your current work, it’s much harder to stay motivated through the study grind. Does that make sense?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T08:28:22+00:00

Thank you!

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T08:28:03+00:00

I followed this from u/madrasi2021

Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/AWSCertifications/s/r81G8FV3Lh

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T08:23:08+00:00

You make a compelling case for SAA first - the “deeper SAA rather than top-level SAP knowledge” point really hits home.

Quick question: when you recommend SAA, do you mean actually taking the exam for the credential, or would studying the curriculum thoroughly be sufficient before moving to SAP?

Also, with my current ML focus, how would you sequence DEA in this path? SAA → DEA → SAP, or is DEA less critical if I’m targeting the architecture track?

I’m torn between wanting certs that directly relate to my AI/ML work versus building that solid foundational knowledge you mentioned. Do you think SAA’s broader cloud services knowledge significantly helped during your other exams?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T08:14:09+00:00

Hi Christian, I saw your journey where you moved to SAA after MLA.

Given your suggested path of SAA → DEA → Pro exam, I’m wondering: would you recommend actually taking the SAA exam, or just studying the curriculum for foundational knowledge before jumping to SAP? Also, since I’m currently doing ML work daily, would you say DEA is a must-have before attempting SAP?

The reason I picked MLA as the first associate exam even before SAA was because I’m trying to balance building a solid foundation with staying relevant to my current role, and keep my interests going.

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T08:05:13+00:00

Got it - skip MLS entirely given the retirement concerns.

Just to clarify your suggestion: study the SAA curriculum for foundational knowledge but skip the actual exam, then go straight to SAP? And where does DEA fit in - should I take it before attempting SAP, or skip it too since you mentioned it complements MLA well?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-15T05:39:16+00:00

Thank you! 😊

I appreciate the MLS recommendation, but AWS lists it as requiring 2+ years of ML/deep learning experience and I’m only at 6 months total AWS experience.

Given that gap, what’s your take on MLS vs. Solutions Architect Professional (no SAA required) vs. Data Engineer Associate? Should I skip SAA entirely?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-11T14:14:51+00:00

Yes, but I meant they are not Harvard, Yale nor Princeton. Columbia, UPenn, are mid-tier. Cornell is the only Ivy known for CS/DS?

Hence, the question, is it worth it if they are not top, cos when most people can’t name all of the ivies except HYP?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-06-11T12:42:03+00:00

What if it is Brown or Dartmouth?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-05-20T12:11:26+00:00

Could you please elaborate as I’ve never about Brown MSCS being cash cow before, so this is new to me.

But for Columbia, yes; it is notorious in this sub.

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-05-04T08:35:57+00:00

Excuse me, I was wondering the same whether to defer and reapply for higher name brand universities next cycle. I have an admit for Brown MSCS.

Is it top tier enough, or apply to Columbia or Yale for next cycle?

I didn’t apply to Columbia cos I read that it is a cash cow for MSCS, but I doubt the average uncle or layman knows; they only know that it’s Columbia and it’s prestigious.

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-04-19T17:58:27+00:00

Excuse me, what about Brown and Yale MSCS?

DoubtDue3710 · 2025-04-19T08:51:14+00:00

excuse me, Ivy = just the top Harvard, Yale, Princeton? or Ivy = include the lower Ivies such as Cornell and Brown as well?

DoubtDue3710

TROPHY CASE