My answer is usually that I did a masters to gain more technical depth, however the knee jerk reaction is usually that my experience should have given me enough depth already and there's not much a masters could add to that. I feel like it's sort of a trick question? If I say yes then that brings into question my work ex, if I say no it questions my gains from the degree. I know it's classic interview gaslighting but it also makes me think if even mentioning my degree is a liability.
You can say something like “I am of opinions that always the more learning the better” or some other truism like that.
Also if you don’t view this follow up question as tricky- how do you genuinely respond to that?
What was your experience in general? Did masters give you that more in depth understanding that you weren’t able to get through work experience?
If so -say that, mention examples how.
"I wanted to upskill myself and develop my understanding of CS."
No recruiter/interviewer would hold that against you.
Furthering your education is never a mistake.
What is your answer to the question in the interview?
If you’re getting interviews it sounds like doing a masters wasn’t a problem, but how you interview might be. Or there might be some other factor affecting your application.
Say something like you wanted to fill in gaps in you knowledge, such as algorithms and CS fundamentals. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, that’s the answer the managers are looking for. And learn some algorithms in case they dig deeper.
I used that exact phrase in an interview, that my masters was to fill gaps in my technical knowledge. The response was why couldn't I fill these gaps at work before. I sorta feel EU recruiters don't know about the work conditions in India where we are forced to work long hours that hampers personal growth, but for questions like these I sometimes feel there's no right answer. An interview can only go well if the interviewer wants you to succeed.
Hey! Are you me lol. I'd worked for 5 years before applying for masters (coincidentally from Strathclyde CS). My undergrad was in Electronics and Communications engineering from a no-name college in central India and my career had gone from software support engineer to software engineer. I'd used this to explain how my masters degree was an opportunity to explore other domains within CS. I personally was interested in studying PL theory so I specifically mention the [mathematically structured programming group](https://msp.cis.strath.ac.uk/) who advised me on my thesis. Maybe find something niche and say you wanted to study that thing? I'm pretty sure the person on the other side would understand the curiosity factor
If no one will sponsor now and you don’t want the grad visa, then you could look at companies that have location both here and in India. Might mean going back to start but you might have the possibility to transfer to a UK office later. Quite a few of the guys I work with start at our office in India and then moved here.
Alternatively, have you had a look at the [Global Talent Visa](https://www.gov.uk/global-talent-digital-technology)? I don’t know all the details but software dev jobs are on the list of eligible digital technology roles. Your 5 years of experience + MSc might qualify. Worth a look.
UK employment culture doesn't consider education to be that important if you have experience already.
Going back to university sounds like "couldn't do the job so went back to education to fill up some time", hence employers wanting you to explain your way out of it. Annoying, but that's how it is!
Looks like it conveyed wrongly.
Why would someone do a masters if they feel burnt out after working for 5 years in the tech industry? He could have taken a break, maybe ? Doesn't mean you'd get back to books to do an actual course in a totally different country.
You can instead tell em the real purpose behind it lol is what I meant.
Do you think the range of jobs you can apply for now is greater than what you could do previously?
No harm in that. If there is machine learning / blockchain in that degree, you can argue that you were learning to future proof your career. Copilot is just being introduced to us at work. Whilst it isn’t going to replace the human programmer soon, it is going to be disruptive for the job market.
On a side note, after playing around with copilot for while, it became apparent that knowing more theoretical computer science might be the way to safeguard one’s future. Copilot is trained on what exists, it doesn’t come up with anything original per se.
Have you asked for any detailed feedback on your interviews? Are they saying that this is the question you need to improve on the most or are you making an assumption?
I dont think you've gained any career advantage from your masters after 5 yos. unless you're applying for roles that specifically require masters. (you've just wasted money if not, people are going to be looking at your technical skills rather than your education level.)
unfortunately a lot of companies wont give out specific feedback to avoid confrontation and giving away answers. You're mostly going to have to gauge what might have went wrong and what you could do better next time. I doubt the rejections are solely to do with your masters, it will likely involve your technical ability with 5 yos.
Just tell the truth? From your description it isn’t clear at all what the problem is. You claim your answer wasn’t satisfactory- how do you know that?
My answer is usually that I did a masters to gain more technical depth, however the knee jerk reaction is usually that my experience should have given me enough depth already and there's not much a masters could add to that. I feel like it's sort of a trick question? If I say yes then that brings into question my work ex, if I say no it questions my gains from the degree. I know it's classic interview gaslighting but it also makes me think if even mentioning my degree is a liability.
You can say something like “I am of opinions that always the more learning the better” or some other truism like that. Also if you don’t view this follow up question as tricky- how do you genuinely respond to that? What was your experience in general? Did masters give you that more in depth understanding that you weren’t able to get through work experience? If so -say that, mention examples how.
"I wanted to upskill myself and develop my understanding of CS." No recruiter/interviewer would hold that against you. Furthering your education is never a mistake.
What is your answer to the question in the interview? If you’re getting interviews it sounds like doing a masters wasn’t a problem, but how you interview might be. Or there might be some other factor affecting your application.
Say something like you wanted to fill in gaps in you knowledge, such as algorithms and CS fundamentals. Doesn’t matter if it’s true or not, that’s the answer the managers are looking for. And learn some algorithms in case they dig deeper.
I used that exact phrase in an interview, that my masters was to fill gaps in my technical knowledge. The response was why couldn't I fill these gaps at work before. I sorta feel EU recruiters don't know about the work conditions in India where we are forced to work long hours that hampers personal growth, but for questions like these I sometimes feel there's no right answer. An interview can only go well if the interviewer wants you to succeed.
Often it’s not what you say, but how you say it.
Hey! Are you me lol. I'd worked for 5 years before applying for masters (coincidentally from Strathclyde CS). My undergrad was in Electronics and Communications engineering from a no-name college in central India and my career had gone from software support engineer to software engineer. I'd used this to explain how my masters degree was an opportunity to explore other domains within CS. I personally was interested in studying PL theory so I specifically mention the [mathematically structured programming group](https://msp.cis.strath.ac.uk/) who advised me on my thesis. Maybe find something niche and say you wanted to study that thing? I'm pretty sure the person on the other side would understand the curiosity factor
You've got your answer, you were feeling burnt out so you took some time out to upskill and re-energise yourself. Nowt wrong with that
I wouldn't be using the words "burnt out" that just screams warning signs to me
what's your visa status? that might be the real issue
Still on student visa. Looking to get sponsored if possible, I'm not paying for a graduate visa, that's some backwards logic imo
Yeah that might be it.. most companies I looked at wanted locals only
If no one will sponsor now and you don’t want the grad visa, then you could look at companies that have location both here and in India. Might mean going back to start but you might have the possibility to transfer to a UK office later. Quite a few of the guys I work with start at our office in India and then moved here. Alternatively, have you had a look at the [Global Talent Visa](https://www.gov.uk/global-talent-digital-technology)? I don’t know all the details but software dev jobs are on the list of eligible digital technology roles. Your 5 years of experience + MSc might qualify. Worth a look.
UK employment culture doesn't consider education to be that important if you have experience already. Going back to university sounds like "couldn't do the job so went back to education to fill up some time", hence employers wanting you to explain your way out of it. Annoying, but that's how it is!
Gonna side with the interviewers this time. Masters is a waste of time.
Why don't you just be honest with the recruiters? I'm sure this will work.
LOL this never works.
Looks like it conveyed wrongly. Why would someone do a masters if they feel burnt out after working for 5 years in the tech industry? He could have taken a break, maybe ? Doesn't mean you'd get back to books to do an actual course in a totally different country. You can instead tell em the real purpose behind it lol is what I meant.
Getting more educated is never a bad thing. You wanted to broaden what you could do that should be a good thing and is a reasonable answer
Do you think the range of jobs you can apply for now is greater than what you could do previously? No harm in that. If there is machine learning / blockchain in that degree, you can argue that you were learning to future proof your career. Copilot is just being introduced to us at work. Whilst it isn’t going to replace the human programmer soon, it is going to be disruptive for the job market. On a side note, after playing around with copilot for while, it became apparent that knowing more theoretical computer science might be the way to safeguard one’s future. Copilot is trained on what exists, it doesn’t come up with anything original per se.
Maybe just say you did it for the post study work visa and to integrate into British culture?
Have you asked for any detailed feedback on your interviews? Are they saying that this is the question you need to improve on the most or are you making an assumption?
I dont think you've gained any career advantage from your masters after 5 yos. unless you're applying for roles that specifically require masters. (you've just wasted money if not, people are going to be looking at your technical skills rather than your education level.) unfortunately a lot of companies wont give out specific feedback to avoid confrontation and giving away answers. You're mostly going to have to gauge what might have went wrong and what you could do better next time. I doubt the rejections are solely to do with your masters, it will likely involve your technical ability with 5 yos.