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Seeking MSCS program recommendations and future plans

19 hours ago

I already have an offer for the UW MS program. Since MIT and Princeton aren't admitting MSCS students this year, I've currently only chosen three programs: Stanford, UPenn, and UCSD. Are there any other programs worth recommending? My main research interest is image/video generation, but I'm not considering a PhD for now because academia simply can't compete with industry in this area.

As for my future career direction, I don't have a strong desire to stay in the US, but I'm also curious whether a CS master's can still land a job these days, or should I just give up hope? Right now my main plan is to return to China, and once I've saved up some money, I'd like to pursue PR in Canada—unless the US opens up jobs in my area, though I feel like that ship has already sailed in the US.

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Comments (2)

利钊17 hours ago

I actually think it's a bit premature to say this direction in the US is dead. It's true that there are few image/video generation positions, but quite a few groups are still hiring—it's just that the bar is high and luck plays a big role. When choosing a school, it's more practical to look at whether there are faculty in the labs and courses working on generative directions than to focus on rankings.

二思兄3 hours ago

The key takeaway: whether you can land a job after your MS makes a big difference between staying in the US and going back to China. In the US, visa and work-authorization constraints are tight and the relevant fields are narrow, so it really is tough. But in China, there have been plenty of companies and roles in image/video generation over the past couple of years, and if you have solid project experience, the opportunities are better than in the US. Since your main intention is to return to China, you don't need to be overly fixated on US employment rates when choosing a school.