Advice on graduate programs for AI / machine learning outside the US /u/henry12227 CSCQ protests reddit

I have a fully-remote job making around 94k with the opportunity to pursue a graduate degree in large part paid for by my employer. I currently have a B.S. in software development from a small, unremarkable college, though I did graduate magna cum laude. I have always been interested in AI / machine learning even before the current craze and have wanted to pursue that further, though I could also be swayed toward data analytics or another field of study if it were more advisable.

I currently reside in New England in the US. I have had it in my head that I would like to study in-person abroad in a country that would give me a good possibility of landing a job and establishing residency in that country down the line. I am not ambitiously aiming for a FAANG job or anything and (maybe naively) want to pursue learning for the sake of learning. That has served me well until now. My list that I’ve been formulating in my head is:

– Reykjavik University in Iceland – doesn’t seem too exclusive, I think I saw a 50% admission rate, and I love Iceland.

– I had Ireland in mind, knowing it is a sort of tech-hub and having a romanticized view of what living in Ireland could be like, but I was reading elsewhere that it might not be the best place…

– Other Scandinavian countries

– New Zealand???

I would really be open to anywhere with a good quality of life – I would just need the language of instruction to be English/Spanish, otherwise I would add Japan.

I have been busy and didn’t think I would be able to apply to anywhere and would have to postpone until next year, but apparently RU has a graduate application deadline in the end of April. With this and other things, I am a bit ignorant of the process and landscape for graduate studies. In talking to my friend about this, she asked whether I would want to pursue a terminal degree or non-terminal, and I did not know the answer.

So I just wanted to solicit some advice on the best path forward: what is the best education I can reasonably expect to pursue in the country with the best prospects for residing?

I have a fully-remote job making around 94k with the opportunity to pursue a graduate degree in large part paid for by my employer. I currently have a B.S. in software development from a small, unremarkable college, though I did graduate magna cum laude. I have always been interested in AI / machine learning even before the current craze and have wanted to pursue that further, though I could also be swayed toward data analytics or another field of study if it were more advisable.

I currently reside in New England in the US. I have had it in my head that I would like to study in-person abroad in a country that would give me a good possibility of landing a job and establishing residency in that country down the line. I am not ambitiously aiming for a FAANG job or anything and (maybe naively) want to pursue learning for the sake of learning. That has served me well until now. My list that I’ve been formulating in my head is:

– Reykjavik University in Iceland – doesn’t seem too exclusive, I think I saw a 50% admission rate, and I love Iceland.

– I had Ireland in mind, knowing it is a sort of tech-hub and having a romanticized view of what living in Ireland could be like, but I was reading elsewhere that it might not be the best place…

– Other Scandinavian countries

– New Zealand???

I would really be open to anywhere with a good quality of life – I would just need the language of instruction to be English/Spanish, otherwise I would add Japan.

I have been busy and didn’t think I would be able to apply to anywhere and would have to postpone until next year, but apparently RU has a graduate application deadline in the end of April. With this and other things, I am a bit ignorant of the process and landscape for graduate studies. In talking to my friend about this, she asked whether I would want to pursue a terminal degree or non-terminal, and I did not know the answer.

So I just wanted to solicit some advice on the best path forward: what is the best education I can reasonably expect to pursue in the country with the best prospects for residing?