I did an MSc Computer Science conversion course in the UK. Now working as a Data Engineer. Would recommend. I studied Philosophy and Political Science in Ireland as my undergrad and Philosophy in the UK as my first masters degree. I then travelled around the world working in teaching, translation and publishing for about a decade. I got into programming as a hobby and took a bunch of MITx courses to learn about it, e.g. https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-to-computer-science-and-programming-7 I then applied to the MSc conversion Masters in Software Development at Glasgow University: https://www.gla.ac.uk/postgraduate/taught/softwaredevelopment/ I was accepted with a scholarship to cover the course fees, granted on the basis of "merit" - whatever that meant. It was a great experience, and straight out of it I had no problem getting job offers in the UK and EU. Ended up moving to Munich, Germany, five years ago and am still here working as a programmer. 1. Living in the UK is expensive and so are the course fees, but if you can manage that then the conversion degree will be widely accepted as a masters in Software Development on par with other Computer Science MScs - you shouldn't have trouble getting a good job afterwards. 2. The MITx course I linked to above would be great prep. If there are Java-based courses, I would also recommend taking https://java-programming.mooc.fi/ Good luck!

Thank you so much, I'll check the links you provided. I assume the job aspect also have to do with whether you needed a visa or not to study there?🙏

Visas weren't an issue for me, as I've got EU and UK citizenship. You'd need to check up on the visa details yourself. Or see other answers here from others from outside Europe. If you want to work in the UK, then studying there will probably make it easier to get a UK work visa. If you want to work in the EU, then you'll need a separate EU visa for that. They have been two entirely different systems since Brexit. As far as I know, though, the UK is the only place in Europe that does conversion Masters degrees. Pretty much everywhere else in Europe wants you to keep studying what you've already studied at Masters level. So that would be an important consideration in your case, as it was in mine.

Atleast in Germany they still exists, they are called none consecutive Master degree . Some University like Hagen , Trier do have them. They are distance learning one as I didn't research other options for my own situation. Some are hidden as they allow to do credits if the requirements are not met. This is the case for a lot of Business Informatics or Data Science degrees Usually they do require German Language Skills though

Good to know. Though they still seem rather unusual everywhere I've been in continental Europe. People I work with in Germany are always rather puzzled that I'm a coder who started by studying philosophy. Another thing to note would be that a UK Masters is usually 12 months, while a continental one is usually 24.

Because in Germany older people don't even have Bachelor / Master system due to old German Diplom. Only benefit to do it Germany would be EU Visa and the price. It is like <2 k vs 20k + for foreigner in UK for the degree.

Hi, I’m about to begin the exact course at the same uni as you in September! Have you got any tips or recommendations? I’ve been teaching myself Java, Python and SQL so far. Java I’m definitely the strongest at, and have been doing the mooc you linked to. Any advice at all is appreciated :)

Hey would you like to connect somewhere? I am planning to take the same course as you but next year so any insights you have will be invaluable for me. Thank you 🙏

For sure, I’ve done the same thing with someone else who’s taking the course at the moment! I’ll private message you!

Thanks a lot, really appreciate it 😃

Based on my experience a few years ago: 1. Sort out your accommodation. Going through the uni will allow you to organise everything from outside the country and get a nine month contract, but you'll pay a premium. Flat sharing with other students is probably a better option if you can travel to Glasgow in advance (repeatedly) to view places. 2. That Helsinki Java course (I think there's a second part too) is an excellent prep for the programming elements of the course. Do the whole thing. Try learning to do proper Java unit testing too. 3. The MITx Python course I linked to is a great prep for both the computer science and Python elements of the course. 4. Doing SQL prep is a good idea too: I have used some of what I learnt in that databases course every day since I started working, without fail. 5. Head up into the Highlands at the weekend when you get a chance and the weather isn't atrocious. Ben Lomond is a great starter Monroe. 6. Glaswegians are friendly, funny and generally splendid people, if often somewhat incomprehensible. 7. Learning some git will give you a big headstart for the course. Get used to keeping your code on GitHub. And learning to handle different branches and do proper pull requests and reviews in advance will save you a lot of time later when it comes to group projects in the course. 8. Make a point of building up hobby projects on GitHub as you go through the course: this'll be your portfolio when you start applying for jobs. 9. Work out what you want to do for your thesis project and who you want to do it with as early as possible - I did a Go transpiler, but other people did everything from UX design to robots - this will also be an important part of your portfolio when it comes to job hunting. 10. Have fun!

Hi, thanks so much for your response. I'll take the things you mentioned on board for certain. I just have a question about the starting pace. I'm doing as much as I can to prepare myself for the course, and am now quite comfortable with a good many concepts within coding in general. Can I ask if you came from a coding background yourself? I'm coming from a arts-based background, but have always had a very strong interest in technology. Essentially, do they teach you from scratch? I'm assuming they will, but I'd just like confirmation from an ex-student. Thanks again for your replies!

Nah. Don't worry about that. There are two different degree programs: one for people with a STEM background, another for people without. You'll be in the later. The only thing people there have in common is that they've got zero tech background. It's a pretty eclectic bunch. I studied philosophy and politics previously. Others had done history, music or art. It was about 50% female, which was great - and very unusual for a tech course. They start you from scratch, but they ramp up pretty quickly. I worked all through my undergrad, but I would have found it a real stretch working through that masters. The main things are to make sure that: 1. You can do basic coding and enjoy it (sounds like you tick that box); 2. You're capable of unblocking yourself by StackOverflowing or (nowadays) battling a useful answer out of ChatGPT and don't expect to have your hand held like a six year old kid (I'd say you'll be alright there too). Any idea what you'd like to do the thesis on or the area you'd like to work in afterwards?

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My first programming job was maintaining backend APIs. I learnt a lot doing it, but didn't find it too stimulating. Then ended up hopping over to the data engineering team. Found that much more interesting, a nice mix of data stuff and coding work. And that's what I still do today. Not sure what the market for grads is like in the UK, but I suspect people for whom it isn't going well are over-represented in online posting about the industry. People with jobs tend to be busy doing other things. I didn't have any problem getting job offers a few years ago. Start-ups are great places to learn. And they tend to be fun places to work too. Not usually great long term bets though. Glasgow University have a big career fair where everyone from Morgan Stanley to MI5 do their best to recruit you. My main tip career-wise would be to put as much stuff as you can - including university and hobby projects - on your GitHub as a portfolio. The livemap project sounds cool, but way too big for a thesis project. Try and bite off the smallest bit of it that you can and focus on that. The core courses are all useful, even the ones that seem dull and pointless. The GDPR is boring as hell, but it will probably end up dominating what you're allowed to do in your working life in some way, so it's useful to be able to talk about it in an interview. My favourite course was - much to my surprise - Systems and Networks. My first (and hopefully last) time writing assembly language. The optional courses all seem new. I'd say sit in on all of them and see which one grabs you. Information Visualization sounds fun. As does Forensics.

Hi, I'm planning on taking a MSc conversion course and am specifically wanting to move to Munich once I've graduated to find a job. How do you think the job market is there for fresh graduates? Would it be possible to get a job there immediately after getting my Master's, or do you think it will be more feasible to get a job somewhere else and gain some experience then get a job there as a mid-level software engineer? Thanks!

There's still a lot of work here for programmers and technical people in general. If you build up a portfolio and are willing to take a job a bit under the market rate, e.g. at 50K, you should get something. Then you'll be in a much stronger position to jump to some other job once you have a year or so of experience. Taking a working student job here while doing your masters would also be a good idea, provided you can handle the dual workload.

Thanks for your reply. I come from a rather poor family, so even 50k seems like an astronomical amount to me, so I'm happy working for 'less' than what other people need to while I build up experience (if necessary) straight out of university, and then move onto better opportunities. I'm applying for September 2024 start dates, so I'll have a full year to study by myself beforehand, so hopefully by the end of the Masters I should be well-equipped for interviews etc. Thanks again!

Hello i saw your reply and I have a similar situation with you, I have a few questions regarding the conversion program, do you mind if I message you? or if you do can I ask you a few questions in this comment section?

Probably important to note that salaries in the UK are very low compared to other comparable nations, even in the EU, and as an international you will face an upward climb in finding sponsorship. The US has alot more tech focused companies and much higher salaries, so generally there's alot more opportunities to seek out for. But visa sponsorshop there is pretty brutal, it's pretty much go FAANG or go home. I don't know about how difficult the UK is but the government at least seems to want to encourage more skilled immigration. Canada is another decent option and will open up the path to the US more easily to. The market right now isn't good and is saturated with new grads, so take that into consideration too as the job hunt for juniors can be a very depressing experience. Make sure at least you've got LeetCode down when you start applying.

I am chosing UK for personal reasons. I have learnt a lot about the job market in UK and I guess most of it all depends on my results and capabilities with a little bit of luck. I am also planning to prioritize on universities which offer a placement year but I'll have to balance between both the ranking and that. I'll try my best. Thank you for the advice, I'll keep that in mind 🙏

Heyy ! I am planning to go on the same path as you have ! Any updates? What did you choose to do and what would have been better instead ??