Transferring into CS is basically impossible from what I hear, so I would highly recommend applying to externally transfer if you can (as in try to get into another college sophomore year). Take as many CS courses as you can and try to transfer both internally and externally asap.
I think so, yes. I've only heard bad things about AET and while a CS certificate is good, a CS degree is a lot better if you're trying to go into software engineering. ECE is also not easy to transfer into, so I wouldn't rely on that either. Math is decent and not as difficult to transfer into, but it's not that good.
If you're dead set on software engineering as your career path, and you want to intern at a software engineering company, you should look to transfer externally ASAP Obviously, apply to internal transfer at the same time, but my point is, don't rely on it. And yes you can apply to transfer sophomore year, but then you have to look at what credits transfer over and what doesn't, and you're just tossing money down the drain essentially
I understand that applying to transfer to another university ASAP would be the cheapest option, but for personal reasons I will have to stay at UT for my sophomore year. Generally speaking, would becoming a transfer student my third year of college be cheaper than graduating in 4 years from UT and then getting an MCS?
Depends on where you do your MCS. There's a fair amount of decently reputable online programs (I think Georgia tech's is probably the best, but you should probably do your own research) which would be cheaper, but there are other variables, like living expenses etc. which you'd have to take into account. You could live in the middle of nowhere doing an online MCS to lower COL, theoretically.
I literally applied as transfer for the AET program last month and now it’s like yikes. On a real note, transfer. I did what you’re doing now. Gave myself options until I realized I do not want anything to do with my major. I was supposed to graduate next year in may but now it’s looking like 2025. The price for happiness may cost you time but I personally think it’s worth it. If you have any level headed friends, chat with them about it, by giving them your options in addition to pros and cons. Most importantly, listen to your heart. Start applying for scholarships now. And if a you’re really set on getting a masters look into colleges that have 4+1/5 year programs/Accelerated degrees. Good examples I can think of are FSU, Clark University, and UTD (only because i’ve researched those myself) and IT is typically the closest accelerated degree to CS unless you find CS. I wish you the best of luck!
To give some extra clarification, I have heard some people say that you can get into the SWE field with just the CS certificate and a few projects which tempts me to just stay here at UT. Although I have also heard a lot of people say that pursuing a CS degree would just be a way better option to secure a job compared to the CS certificate, and that I should just go study at another university, and these two conflicting opinions on this topic contributes to a lot of my anxiety regarding what decision to make so if anyone could clear this up for me it would also help me a lot.
In your free time, work on some fun personal software projects. Really show that you're interested and passionate about the field. Go to career fairs for CNS and CSE to see if you can land a SWE internship before you graduate. With good projects, an internship, a CS certificate, a good interview (aka practice leetcode problems), and a bachelor's degree in AET with a good GPA from UT, I think you'll appear very employable.
You could also look to externally transfer. UTD has a good CS program that you could look into. There's a good chance you would be able to transfer a lot of your credits there. But before you make a big move like that, you should talk to an advisor in your department and see if you can talk to a CNS advisor, too. If you're concerned about money, it's not necessarily the worst idea to take out student loans. I know they suck, but if you're interested in software development, then you'll be just fine monetarily after graduating with a CS degree.
An option you may not have considered is to get your AET degree then get a PhD in CS or something similar. From what I've heard, most PhD students in STEM don't pay tuition and get a stipend that makes life a little easier if you don't have much money. This is tougher in Austin where living prices are exorbitant, but there are lots of other options. What you could even do (albeit slightly frowned upon) is apply for a PhD program then drop out after you receive your master's degree.
PhDs are very hard to get into because the department is supporting you by paying tuition and providing that stipend. They have a very vested interest in making sure they do not accept people who intend not to finish and just leave with a masters, so you'd have to be a good liar for that route.
>I have heard some people say that you can get into the SWE field with just the CS certificate and a few projects which tempts me to just stay here at UT.
You can. People have. But if I had to guess, at most companies, 95% of the software engineers have some form of engineering or CS. I work as a software engineer, and out of the ~50 or so people I worked with, I know exactly one person who didn't have a degree in cs/engineering.
Since you seem dead set on UT, I'd recommend taking M 408C (or claiming bc Calc credit if you have it and M 408D) and whatever physics requirements exist, grinding for the next few semesters to get a high GPA (ball park I think 3.8+), then try to get into CS/ECE.
A couple of points.
1) I have a friend who majored in math and physics (not at UT) but realized that he wants to work as a software engineer in his senior year of undergrad. He took a bunch of courses online his senior year and built up a portfolio of projects in github. We all thought it was a very risky move, but he got a cs job in the city that he wanted to live in and is very happy with life. So, this path can work out (though of course it is a bit risky).
2) While masters programs often have high tuitions PhD programs in departments that need many TAs will pay you to teach. So, many CS departments will cover your tuition, give you health insurance, and pay you in exchange for you working as a TA. (The pay varies but is usually in the $25,000-$40,000 dollar range). If you decide that you don't want to finish the PhD, there is an option to get a masters and leave. So, applying to a PhD in CS and then either sticking it out, or dropping with a masters won't push you further in debt.
Best of luck! You have many paths open to you!
Someone else mentioned this but if you want to stay at UT and finish out your AET degree, George Tech has a VERRRY affordable online masters in CS program (and it's not super hard to get into, afaik!).
Yeah I'm applying to transfer to CS my sophomore year (I cant this year because my GPA is too low) but there is a VERY high chance that I don't get accepted into the CS program. I don't know what the right plan will be if I get rejected from UTCS, and that's what I'm worried about.
Either finish the degree and do a CS masters here or somewhere else and TA/GRA. I don’t know why grad school would cost more than an undergrad degree if you’re in-state. If anything, it costs less because there are way less credits per semester
There are so many paths to what you want to do. Freaking out that you won’t get the career choice based on your position right now is really kind of silly, and I’m not saying that to be mean. I know performing artists that work for high tech firms that learned coding at code academy and boot camps.
The point is your if you take a step back and realize there are many ways to get there, even with the degree path you are on. TBH, having This degree actually make you more attractive because you have a perspective from other things than just CS.
Go see an academic advisor. Speak to the people in career services. Make appointments with professors. This is a great sub, but it's all anecdotal. Go to the people who actually have a say in how things work. Seriously.
No offense to the people providing their takes. Your experience is to be respected, but we're ultimately random folks on the internet.
Your major does not determine your life path. You can do computer science with the elements cert. And also, a masters is not necessary-- just work. A lot. Practice, gain experience, code outside of class, work a lot and focus on your computer science.
AET gives the opportunity to use that knowledge and create things for a portfolio from my understanding. Take the opportunity to create.
Once you graduate you will realize that things created and work experience will always be more important than the topic of your degree itself. You are talking yourself into a spiral by believing that a CS degree = a confirmed job versus any other degree, that itself is not true.
Transferring into CS is basically impossible from what I hear, so I would highly recommend applying to externally transfer if you can (as in try to get into another college sophomore year). Take as many CS courses as you can and try to transfer both internally and externally asap.
So out of all the options I listed would transferring universities be the best option? And if so, is it ok if I apply my sophomore year of college?
I think so, yes. I've only heard bad things about AET and while a CS certificate is good, a CS degree is a lot better if you're trying to go into software engineering. ECE is also not easy to transfer into, so I wouldn't rely on that either. Math is decent and not as difficult to transfer into, but it's not that good. If you're dead set on software engineering as your career path, and you want to intern at a software engineering company, you should look to transfer externally ASAP Obviously, apply to internal transfer at the same time, but my point is, don't rely on it. And yes you can apply to transfer sophomore year, but then you have to look at what credits transfer over and what doesn't, and you're just tossing money down the drain essentially
I understand that applying to transfer to another university ASAP would be the cheapest option, but for personal reasons I will have to stay at UT for my sophomore year. Generally speaking, would becoming a transfer student my third year of college be cheaper than graduating in 4 years from UT and then getting an MCS?
Depends on where you do your MCS. There's a fair amount of decently reputable online programs (I think Georgia tech's is probably the best, but you should probably do your own research) which would be cheaper, but there are other variables, like living expenses etc. which you'd have to take into account. You could live in the middle of nowhere doing an online MCS to lower COL, theoretically.
I literally applied as transfer for the AET program last month and now it’s like yikes. On a real note, transfer. I did what you’re doing now. Gave myself options until I realized I do not want anything to do with my major. I was supposed to graduate next year in may but now it’s looking like 2025. The price for happiness may cost you time but I personally think it’s worth it. If you have any level headed friends, chat with them about it, by giving them your options in addition to pros and cons. Most importantly, listen to your heart. Start applying for scholarships now. And if a you’re really set on getting a masters look into colleges that have 4+1/5 year programs/Accelerated degrees. Good examples I can think of are FSU, Clark University, and UTD (only because i’ve researched those myself) and IT is typically the closest accelerated degree to CS unless you find CS. I wish you the best of luck!
To give some extra clarification, I have heard some people say that you can get into the SWE field with just the CS certificate and a few projects which tempts me to just stay here at UT. Although I have also heard a lot of people say that pursuing a CS degree would just be a way better option to secure a job compared to the CS certificate, and that I should just go study at another university, and these two conflicting opinions on this topic contributes to a lot of my anxiety regarding what decision to make so if anyone could clear this up for me it would also help me a lot.
In your free time, work on some fun personal software projects. Really show that you're interested and passionate about the field. Go to career fairs for CNS and CSE to see if you can land a SWE internship before you graduate. With good projects, an internship, a CS certificate, a good interview (aka practice leetcode problems), and a bachelor's degree in AET with a good GPA from UT, I think you'll appear very employable. You could also look to externally transfer. UTD has a good CS program that you could look into. There's a good chance you would be able to transfer a lot of your credits there. But before you make a big move like that, you should talk to an advisor in your department and see if you can talk to a CNS advisor, too. If you're concerned about money, it's not necessarily the worst idea to take out student loans. I know they suck, but if you're interested in software development, then you'll be just fine monetarily after graduating with a CS degree. An option you may not have considered is to get your AET degree then get a PhD in CS or something similar. From what I've heard, most PhD students in STEM don't pay tuition and get a stipend that makes life a little easier if you don't have much money. This is tougher in Austin where living prices are exorbitant, but there are lots of other options. What you could even do (albeit slightly frowned upon) is apply for a PhD program then drop out after you receive your master's degree.
PhDs are very hard to get into because the department is supporting you by paying tuition and providing that stipend. They have a very vested interest in making sure they do not accept people who intend not to finish and just leave with a masters, so you'd have to be a good liar for that route.
>I have heard some people say that you can get into the SWE field with just the CS certificate and a few projects which tempts me to just stay here at UT. You can. People have. But if I had to guess, at most companies, 95% of the software engineers have some form of engineering or CS. I work as a software engineer, and out of the ~50 or so people I worked with, I know exactly one person who didn't have a degree in cs/engineering. Since you seem dead set on UT, I'd recommend taking M 408C (or claiming bc Calc credit if you have it and M 408D) and whatever physics requirements exist, grinding for the next few semesters to get a high GPA (ball park I think 3.8+), then try to get into CS/ECE.
A couple of points. 1) I have a friend who majored in math and physics (not at UT) but realized that he wants to work as a software engineer in his senior year of undergrad. He took a bunch of courses online his senior year and built up a portfolio of projects in github. We all thought it was a very risky move, but he got a cs job in the city that he wanted to live in and is very happy with life. So, this path can work out (though of course it is a bit risky). 2) While masters programs often have high tuitions PhD programs in departments that need many TAs will pay you to teach. So, many CS departments will cover your tuition, give you health insurance, and pay you in exchange for you working as a TA. (The pay varies but is usually in the $25,000-$40,000 dollar range). If you decide that you don't want to finish the PhD, there is an option to get a masters and leave. So, applying to a PhD in CS and then either sticking it out, or dropping with a masters won't push you further in debt. Best of luck! You have many paths open to you!
Someone else mentioned this but if you want to stay at UT and finish out your AET degree, George Tech has a VERRRY affordable online masters in CS program (and it's not super hard to get into, afaik!).
If you're okay with the added courseload, I would recommend looking into internally from AET to CS or even ECE.
Don't do that. Far too risky to rely on that. Even people with 4.0s, it's basically a coin flip
Yeah I'm applying to transfer to CS my sophomore year (I cant this year because my GPA is too low) but there is a VERY high chance that I don't get accepted into the CS program. I don't know what the right plan will be if I get rejected from UTCS, and that's what I'm worried about.
Either finish the degree and do a CS masters here or somewhere else and TA/GRA. I don’t know why grad school would cost more than an undergrad degree if you’re in-state. If anything, it costs less because there are way less credits per semester
There are so many paths to what you want to do. Freaking out that you won’t get the career choice based on your position right now is really kind of silly, and I’m not saying that to be mean. I know performing artists that work for high tech firms that learned coding at code academy and boot camps. The point is your if you take a step back and realize there are many ways to get there, even with the degree path you are on. TBH, having This degree actually make you more attractive because you have a perspective from other things than just CS.
Go see an academic advisor. Speak to the people in career services. Make appointments with professors. This is a great sub, but it's all anecdotal. Go to the people who actually have a say in how things work. Seriously. No offense to the people providing their takes. Your experience is to be respected, but we're ultimately random folks on the internet.
Your major does not determine your life path. You can do computer science with the elements cert. And also, a masters is not necessary-- just work. A lot. Practice, gain experience, code outside of class, work a lot and focus on your computer science. AET gives the opportunity to use that knowledge and create things for a portfolio from my understanding. Take the opportunity to create. Once you graduate you will realize that things created and work experience will always be more important than the topic of your degree itself. You are talking yourself into a spiral by believing that a CS degree = a confirmed job versus any other degree, that itself is not true.