Academics / Masters Programs / MPCS Spotlight

Junhao Wang, MPCS Class of 2019

Junhao Wang graduated from the MPCS in 2019. He is currently working at Amazon as a Software Developer Engineer. He spoke with us about how his MPCS education has helped him achieve his professional goals, particularly as a student with a non-CS undergraduate major.

Did you come to the MPCS with a computer science background? What motivated you to apply and enroll?

My undergraduate degree is in Electrical Engineering. Before I came to the MPCS, I was familiar with programming but I didn’t take other CS courses in my undergrad. I applied to MPCS because this program is friendly for people with little CS background. The courses are of good quality, and the MPCS offers different areas of courses.

You’re now a Software Engineer at Amazon, which programming language/technical skills do you use most often at work?

Java is the main programming language I use at work. I also use Python and Ruby sometimes. Because I work at Amazon, I use AWS all the time!

How has your MPCS education helped you achieve your professional goals?

First, I learnt the technical skills that I need for job hunting: algorithms, programming, cloud computing etc.

I also took courses like Networks, Web programming and Big Data. These courses broadened my knowledge tree and introduced me to different areas of CS.

Finally, I developed the skills of information gathering and self learning, which I think are some very important skills for people working in Engineering fields. Especially for Computer Science, because many new technologies are being created everyday, it’s really important you can learn these new things by yourself when necessary. MPCS coursework, assignments sometimes require you to dive deep and learn skills yourself in order to complete them, and I really like such open-ended assignments.

Would you recommend the MPCS to others? If so, why?

Yes. I recommend the MPCS to people who want to find a job related to CS and have little to none CS background. This program can help you learn necessary skills to help you get a job.

What would you tell someone thinking about pivoting from a non-computer science background to the MPCS?

You should think about what areas of CS you want to work in. If you don’t have a clue yet, you can talk with MPCS instructors and staff members. Then you need to take the courses that can help you develop the skill you need. Finally, just work hard!