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MorphingDragon

macrumors 603
Original poster
Mar 27, 2009
5,159
6
The World Inbetween
No this isn't a, "FFS I spend $12352732498million on a degree now I can pay it thread." :D

Next year is the honours year of my CS bachelors and I'm having issues deciding what to do after it, and what I decide will affect what papers I should take along side the project. Lets just say some money is shifting hands, and it would be ideal for me to wait ~2 years before committing to anything long term in terms of employment or starting a business.

My first idea would to just do a MSc or MPhil, yea? Pretty standard, might make getting a job easier. However Computational Geometry interests me, and if I did do postgrad research it would be in that field which requires strong Algebra knowledge. If I did get a job, I'm interested in real time computing (Graphics, Game Engines, Physics Simulation, BioInformatics etc) which also requires a strong knowledge in maths.

When I tried to get internships in companies that interested me, a lot of them asked how my maths was and even if I was even double majoring in it. Because of that, I've started toying with the idea of doing a BSc in pure maths, which would take 2 years after all the cross crediting from the current degree. I would emphasize Algebra, Discrete Maths and Formal Methods in the elective papers. The Dean has offered some Scholarships to me which could pay for it as well. I would just need to arrange living costs somehow so funds for another 2 years wont be an issue.

So what would be your recommendation, a Math degree or a CS Masters? I like maths and don't mind putting in the effort for the Calc papers @_@. I would like to do a PhD at some point later, just so I can have the option of teaching and researching later in life, but that won't be until I'm in my 30s. It also seems more unique as well to have a proper background in CS and Math.

(My honours project is an implicitly parallel physics engine if you're interested.)
 
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