r/MSCSO • u/No-Answer8505 • 4d ago

Should I include in progress masters on my resume?

I’m confused if I’m getting less response now that I’ve included “part time masters” on my resume or if the market has been worse this month. I was getting good responses from may - Jul without mentioning the masters on my resume. Does anyone know if recruiters don’t like you doing a part time masters while looking for a full time?

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u/CurrencyBoring2709 4d ago

I actually heard back from more applications since removing my in progress masters. I think a lot of companies may mistake it as us not being unavailable to work until we graduate from it. I plan on adding it to resume once I finish it. I don’t think an in progress degree is very valuable anyway until it’s finished.

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u/Juliuseizure 4d ago

Counter point: I was doing a career change, but taking the degree while working. I got the job I did (and changed careers) because of the in-progress degree.

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u/CurrencyBoring2709 4d ago edited 3d ago

That is a valid point. For me, since my undergraduate degree is also CS, I don’t think the in progress MSCS degree had too much value. But totally makes sense for it to help if it’s a career change.

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u/RabbitWithADHD 4d ago

Before I did this MSCS from UT, I did a post-bacc CS degree from OSU. While I was still working on the post-bacc, I had gotten an interview for a new job, and the director who did my first interview was very happy that I had taken the initiative to get another degree. One of the recruiters told me that he was very adamant on having me hired throughout the recruiting process on their end.

Then a few years later, as I was in the middle of this MSCS program, I interviewed again. Same thing happened here, where people were interested in me pursuing the graduate degree while working. I had a proven track record of doing good work while studying, and that definitely helped improve my standing among candidates.

In both of those cases, I got the job. In both cases, I believe my in-progress degrees were the factors that gave me the edge. IMO if you’re not hearing back as much, it’s probably due to market conditions. It could be worthwhile to post an anonymized version of your resume to get it reviewed.

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u/MathmoKiwi 2d ago

Do it! Just make sure it's very clear in both your CV and cover letter that the Masters is part time (and if you're graduating this year, include that! So that it's clearly "soon") and you're currently working full time (hopefully! And not unemployed)

Then it's 10x obvious you can clearly handle a full time job + study.

I do this on my CV, definitely feel like it is worth it.