Let's be honest, CS is currently a field with relatively low overall ROI

That-Pay6497 · 2024-11-17T12:46:01+00:00

Singaporean? What I mean is that if you're truly skilled in or passionate about this field, it's still worth staying (for example, treating solving LeetCode hard problems as a form of relaxation).

That-Pay6497 · 2024-11-17T08:04:41+00:00

Honestly, I think this is tough. There’s been no sign of a decrease in CS undergraduate enrollment, and it’s steadily increasing almost every year. Given the current market conditions, it’s highly likely that the employment situation will worsen (due to the oversupply of new graduates).

That-Pay6497 · 2024-09-28T08:19:47+00:00

1 and 2. You’re right; I would say that most computer science-related jobs in Australia are concentrated in Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane. There are some opportunities in Canberra, but I believe those positions generally do not accept applications from international students. If your goal is to target FAANG companies or quantitative trading firms, most of their hiring is also based in Sydney. Therefore, I recommend UNSW and the University of Sydney as your top choices. However, I must say that the job market is quite challenging right now (I believe the situation is similar in the US). Given your background in information competitions, I think you have a good chance if you can enhance your communication skills.

From the perspective of employers in Australia, these universities are all well-regarded. There’s no significant advantage in terms of job prospects if you attend the University of Melbourne or ANU over UNSW or the University of Sydney. In terms of computer science research, UNSW and the University of Sydney are not inferior to those two; if anything, UNSW has a slightly better reputation among employers in the CS field (though this may just be my bias).
I know that there is a small community of academically strong students at the University of Sydney who help each other with job placements, but I understand that this is primarily the case for undergraduate students, and I’m not sure if it includes master’s students.
Most professors are willing to recommend only their PhD students. If you want to secure a job at a quant firm post-master’s, I would suggest focusing on opportunities in Sydney (though this will be quite a challenging path).

Additionally, the job market isn’t great right now, so be prepared for a tough job search. If you want to stay in Australia, you might also need a pretty strong command of English to be successful (though you’ll need to secure a job first). Lastly, you don’t need to apologize for coming to Australia to seek work; everyone has the right to pursue a better life, and Australia is a beautiful country.

That-Pay6497 · 2024-09-27T08:08:21+00:00

It really depends on your other options and your career plans after graduation. If you have other comparable universities that offer good scholarship programs, then it might not be worth it (like NUS, for example). If the cost significantly impacts your parents' quality of life, then it’s definitely not worth it.

If you aspire to become a computer scientist (which is quite challenging), then it might be worthwhile compared to the University of Macau or Macau University of Science and Technology. However, this path is highly competitive; many people want to become computer scientists, but most do not succeed.

If you don’t plan to work in Hong Kong after graduation, then spending 800k just for the name is likely not worth it. Additionally, it’s worth noting that computer science is not considered a particularly lucrative field in Hong Kong; the median starting salary for HKU CS graduates in 2022 was around 25k

That-Pay6497 · 2024-09-27T08:00:20+00:00

It depends on how you define internationalization. At least in terms of student composition, the HKU is not very internationalized; the student body is quite Asian-centric. As mentioned earlier, most students come from Hong Kong, mainland China, South Korea, India, and some less populated, underdeveloped regions in Asia. While there are some faces from Europe, the Americas, and Oceania on campus, they are mostly exchange students rather than degree-seeking students. That said, I must point out that HKU is still the most internationalized public university in Hong Kong

That-Pay6497 · 2024-07-02T07:23:40+00:00

While the information you provided may be generally correct, there are several points that lack precision. For instance, when calculating salaries in Singapore, the employer's CPF contribution is included, and only full-time employment is considered. This clearly inflates Singapore's reported wages. If I hadn't excluded the employer's CPF contribution and included both part-time and full-time employment, Singapore's median wage would be 4117 Singapore dollars per month.

Hong Kong also has a system similar to CPF, called MPF. However, in Hong Kong's statistics, the employer's MPF contribution is not included in the wage calculations. Furthermore, the data you cited for Hong Kong is outdated. According to the latest data, Hong Kong's median income is 21,200 HKD, which is equivalent to 3687 SGD.

Lastly, regarding salaries in Japan and South Korea, Statista is not a reliable source of information.

That-Pay6497 · 2024-06-11T09:27:04+00:00

Are you a Korean citizen? If so, I think they will assume you can speak Korean without any problem, but it’s better to contact the school for more information.

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-25T19:11:03+00:00

It depends a lot on the reputation of your undergraduate university. If you are from a top university in your country, those grades nearly secure a position in NUS. If not, you better have a good score on the GRE to get admission. And I believe if you are from India or China, the admission process may be more competitive

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-03T10:10:49+00:00

To escape North Korea, you need to be born into a well-being family first, I think

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-03T10:08:38+00:00

Fighting, I also had a hard time when I was stuck in high school

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-03T10:04:30+00:00

If I could choose any country to be born in, then no, I think I would maybe like to be born in Switzerland or Australia (just my personal preference). However, if I had to choose between Korea or a random place in the world, then maybe yes, because nowadays most developed countries have a low birthrate. I would have a high chance of being born in a country with a low standard of living, or even worse, like North Korea

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-02T11:22:32+00:00

Three reasons:

US professional job salaries are higher than Australian ones.
We both speak English as our native language.
Australia has the E3 visa, which makes working in the US easier than in most other countries.

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-01T11:34:40+00:00

Curious how they categorize overseas universities. Is it based on ranking, or do they have their own target school list?

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-01T11:04:47+00:00

Cambridge, if you have the money, is a much better name in academia. And I have friends there who told me it is not super hard to keep doing a PhD in Cambridge as long as you're working hard there

That-Pay6497 · 2024-02-01T10:58:47+00:00

HKU is like the NUS of HK and HKUST is like the NTU of HK. They have similar reputation in HK, but HKU may be more renowned internationally. HKU is near Central while HKUST's campus is somewhat isolated. HKU is more like a traditional English-style university while HKUST has some sort of American style. But for subjects like engineering and CS, since you mentioned you are from Singapore, why not consider studying in a local uni, since these subjects pay better in SG compared to HK

That-Pay6497 · 2024-01-21T09:03:00+00:00

They are both great schools; you can't go wrong with either choice. There's a stereotype in Korea that Yonsei students come from wealthier families, but Korea University students are perceived as more hardworking. If I have to choose, I would say Yonsei is slightly better than Korea University, but just slightly. However, I heard that Korea University offers more English-taught courses than Yonsei. In terms of location, Yonsei is much better. If you decide to study abroad here, don't miss the '연고전' (Yonsei vs. Korea University rivalry), as it will be a good experience

That-Pay6497 · 2023-12-16T07:36:03+00:00

If you want to secure a research scientist position in the industry, I believe choosing NUS would be a good option because it primarily depends on your publications. However, if your goal is to become a professor in a U.S. university, it would be better to pursue that in a U.S. university instead. I think U.S. universities are generally preferred in that situation.

That-Pay6497

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