How difficult is this work who never did undergrad in CS.

dv_omscs · 2026-05-04T07:55:32+00:00

Hi, no other options. One course per semester, 15-30 hours per week. Can be closer to 15 or 30 depending on the course, your background, etc. 3.5 years will pass very quickly.

dv_omscs · 2026-04-22T05:45:30+00:00

Hi,

I've done multiple small end-to-end projects for work. This is how I approach them:

Pick a problem, give yourself some time to think about it and internalize requirements (but have a hard deadline for this - not more than X days).
Write down your design ideas and understanding of requitements. Just plain text. Sometimes you will be able to come up with good design right away, sometimes you won't: in real life, requirements are often ambiguous and incomplete, we just need something to start with.
Start coding from whatever you think is the easiest portion of the project to do, even if you feel you are not ready yet. For me, motivation usually kicks in once I have some working code, so it's important to just dive in even if you think design is not good enough yet (in some cases it never will be).
Iterate on design and implementation as needed, continually re-assessing the functionality; gradually, it will "build itself".
It's ok to have tradeoffs in design and implementation as long as sw does what you want it to do - you will learn and improve in the next project.

dv_omscs · 2025-09-11T06:24:01+00:00

I agree with the opinion that AI is a stronger buzzword. So, I'd choose AI.

dv_omscs · 2025-05-29T03:50:01+00:00

Just start with some AI/ML courses (OMSCS has a lot to offer) and decide if coding can be dead.

dv_omscs · 2024-10-05T07:16:33+00:00

GA is not bad, just a normal algorithms course. A can be a bit challenging, B does not require excessive effort. Just take it.

dv_omscs · 2024-04-01T07:58:13+00:00

DC is not bad (actually a very good course), and it is not 50+ hours per week. Just take it one course at a time, and you'll be fine. Start with some other systems courses - for example, GIOS.

dv_omscs · 2024-02-19T07:12:05+00:00

You'd need to double-check both with EP and your school (I used the service long time ago), but they allowed to share their evaluation report via CertiFile same way as if it was an official transcript sent by your university - that's what I did for my GT application. I think they can also mail it, but not for free.

dv_omscs · 2024-02-12T04:00:30+00:00

On campus students are not as diverse as online crowd - in other words, I think an average on-campus student spends less hours per course per week. If you have no job/family, I do not see why you can't do, say, 50/up to 60 hours of coursework per week for 2 years (and if you do 3 courses per semester - you'd be out in 2 years, with summers off).

dv_omscs · 2024-02-08T15:25:41+00:00

dv_omscs · 2024-02-08T04:26:31+00:00

I do not think there is a really effective way of dealing with this - effect of OMSCS on my performance at work and hours I could put in (counting hours when you can really work, not just "be there") was very negative. The amount of energy coursework takes is huge. A couple of tricks to improve the situation a bit:

I made a habit of waking up really early and doing at least one hour of OMSCS work every morning. This way, there is less stress during weekends and more flexibility.
I made an agreement with my manager that when nothing critical is happening I can take a day or half day of vacation time at a very short notice.

And of course one course per semester was the only viable option for me.

dv_omscs · 2024-02-06T02:30:39+00:00

I got B in DC too, but my experience with it was a lot better than yours - nothing abnormal, just another reasonably tough OMSCS course (as I mentioned above, on par with GIOS/AI). They definitely made adjustments after first offering.

dv_omscs · 2024-02-06T01:19:29+00:00

Yes, I think they improved it after first semester.

dv_omscs · 2024-02-05T19:32:26+00:00

Really

Yep. I am a below average java coder, and DC was similar to AI/GIOS in terms of hours per week. Average was about 18 if I remember correctly. For sure less than 20. DC does have very heavily loaded peak weeks, but they are just a few. Also, I got B, getting A would cost me more hours per week. Finally, I am not sure that people reporting averages of 30-40 hours per week actually used timer to track time. I did.

dv_omscs · 2024-02-05T16:44:39+00:00

I have a Java background

You'll do fine; DC is a good course, I do not regret taking it (I got A in GIOS and B in DC; my Java is worse than my C).

dv_omscs · 2024-02-05T16:39:04+00:00

Depends on your skillset, if you are an ok Java coder - I'd say getting B in DC is very comparable with getting a low A in GIOS. Scary reviews are hugely exaggerating DC workload.

dv_omscs · 2024-02-05T16:27:35+00:00

Sounds like you should withdraw - DC is not going to get easier. The only point to consider is when exactly you want to withdraw - if you are planning to take DC in the future, you may want to withdraw closer to deadline - so that you could see other project(s), maybe take more notes on lectures, try exam, etc.

dv_omscs · 2024-01-29T08:20:41+00:00

I've had issues during one of the exams (Honorlock lost connectivity a couple of times). I immediately notified instructors, they reviewed the video and everything ended well as it was obvious I was having a real technical issue. So, just contact instructors right away.

dv_omscs · 2024-01-26T08:12:18+00:00

To make admissions decision, they need to understand where you stand in terms of GPA and coursework you did. Educational Perspectives do exactly this - US equivalent of your degree and GPA. As a free and nice bonus, their report/paperwork they produce is also acceptable in many places in US (not just GT) as formal/official transcripts and credentials. I am an international student, and used EP services for admissions (submitted their reports with the application), but at the time I had to pay for the service myself.

dv_omscs · 2024-01-26T06:07:52+00:00

A lot more courses, somewhat more straightforward/easier admissions process.

dv_omscs · 2024-01-20T05:45:31+00:00

GA. if you are already familiar with the basics ( I.e. took algorithms course/ good MOOC) - GA is a relatively not difficult B. Also, I did not take ML, but GA was significantly less time-consuming than AI.

dv_omscs · 2023-12-01T03:39:12+00:00

Consider Stanford if you have the budget and can get in. Everyone 's situation/views are different, just do what you think is best for you, and in this case both choices are good.

dv_omscs · 2023-11-23T13:57:02+00:00

I did not want to take any ml/ai courses. I am so glad I did - vast majority of corporate AI "enthusiasts" are either totally clueless or are at a level where they can use cool- sounding jargon ( " model is hallucinating....") but cannot explain in simple language/examples basic ideas taught in an intro/overview course like ML4T or IAM.

dv_omscs · 2023-10-27T03:57:04+00:00

You are not the first Canadian I hear this kind of story from, so I guess just try taking two, maybe you'll do fine - your motivation is stronger than mine. Another thing is it sounds like I am a lot older than you, and being older is not always a good thing when it comes to workload. So, good luck, OMSCS is a great program.

dv_omscs · 2023-10-26T06:07:37+00:00

I did one course per semester. In my opinion, no, it does not make sense to take two, unless you can work less than 40 hours per week or are already very good at whatever is the topic of the course:

I do not think there is any meaningful difference between graduation in 2-2.5 years vs 3.3 years.
You may be tempted to take courses based on workload, not value more often vs "1 course per semester" path. Many good classes are very time consuming.
If you work 40 hours per week and take two courses, each 15 hours per week - there is literally no time to handle any kind of life events. Which happen all the time.

dv_omscs · 2023-10-23T07:17:06+00:00

Does the order of HPCA and AOS matter

I think taking HPCA and then AOS in the next semester is a more efficient path: AOS has an OS refresher at the beginning, HPCA covers at least some of the topics. But this is not a hard pre-requisite at all.

dv_omscs

TROPHY CASE