Computer Programming help?

Will a master's in computer science help me land a job at software companies like Google or Apple if I have not done my undergraduate degree in CS but have done GSoC competitive programming?

• I am in my final year doing electronics engineering from a reputed university. I am very interested in programming and have done a GSoC in the past. I am also involved in competitive programming. I have placements in some months and I expect to be placed in a decent company. Do you think I should get adequate experience by doing a masters degree in computer science or keep improving my coding skills independently so that I can work for software companies in the Valley?

• Answer:

  Disclaimer: I work for Google, but these opinions are my own and not the company's. Doing a masters for the sake of improving your chances at a large software company is not the best strategy. Big companies don't care too much about what your degree is on. All over Google there are people with backgrounds in chemistry, math, physics, engineering and computer science. Other companies are very likely the same in this regard. You are obviously competent at coding, and that is going to be much more important than your experience on paper. In your resume, you should try to highlight and stress your coding ability and projects, which is more likely to get you through the screening than anything else. But the most important part is that, if you really love coding, solving complex problems, and changing the world, then it will shine through no matter what. I don't think going for resume achievement checklists is going to do you any good. I think that the "ideal" time for me to apply for Google in terms of marketability and strength of skills would have been about 5 years before I actually applied. Those 5 years, however, I was pursuing exactly what I wanted to do at the time. Those 5 years were of little to no interest to Google in terms of skills and role fit, but I don't get the impression that it was seen as a detriment. So, if you want to do a masters because you love it, by all mean go and do it. But if you just want to tick a checkbox, then probably not a great idea. In any case, drop me a line if you would like me to check your resume or anything else.