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by anuj_nm 3566 days ago
Have you considered an online Master's degree in machine learning from Georgia Tech? Its offered through Udacity so its cheaper and more flexible, but you also get a full degree from Georgia Tech.

Full disclosure- I'm currently in that program and loving it.

4 comments

Is it possible to do a Master's from GA Tech without a BS/BA from a STEM major? I have a BA, but it's in the humanities, although I'm currently employed as a software engineer.
Yes, I think it should be fine considering you have some work experience.

Once you're accepted though, you'll have to complete two foundational courses within a year (with a grade of at least B) in order to continue to be eligible. This applies to all new students.

From my own experience, some of the courses are pretty easy, so getting a B or higher isn't difficult.

I've done both the nanodegree and am nearly done with OMSCS. the nanodegree is pretty value less in general.

It's not that rigid or difficult and carries no real weight.

I keep getting marketing emails from Udacity about their nanodegrees. Some of them sound pretty attractive (like the ones related to self-driving cars) and I've been tempted to take them. Glad to hear an actual review from someone :)
They're very light. Since they don't carry any weight you'd at least hope to learn something.

You'll get as much if not more from the free machine learning Georgia tech course with Tom Mitchell's book than the nanodegree.

As a follow up, I took Thruns robotic driving course and it suffers from being a purely software course. There are optional hardware projects but no imparted hardware instruction.

So I'd be especially leery of an automated driving nanodegree degree online.

How many hours per week is the program and how long does it take? how far are you into it?
I only take 1-2 courses each semester. Which means it'll take me a total of 3 years to graduate. Right now I'm about a year in, with 3 courses under my belt. One of the courses I took was time-consuming and difficult- maybe 15-20 hours a week. The other two however have been relatively easy, where I've spent less than 10 hours a week on each.
Adding to this, there's an informal course review site that gives you pretty good reviews from other students. It should give you some more context: https://omscentral.com/reviews
What was your math background before beginning?
I have an undergrad degree in Computer Engineering, and have been working in the field for 3 years. So I took 1st year and 2nd year Math courses during my undergrad, but I haven't really used them since.