u/StrategyVisual549

Hey everyone, my MagSafe cable (bought mac in May 2025) has completely stopped charging my MacBook. The cable looks brand new externally — no fraying, no damage anywhere — so it seems like an internal failure.

Confirmed through testing that both my adapter and my MacBook are perfectly fine. It's definitely the cable.

Called Apple Support — they confirmed it's out of warranty and won't replace for free.

My questions:

1. Has anyone gotten Apple to repair or replace a MagSafe cable out of warranty? Worth pushing?
2. Anyone else experienced a MagSafe failing internally with zero external damage? Feels like a manufacturing defect.
3. Any downside to switching to USB-C charging permanently instead of replacing the MagSafe?
4. What is the best option type c or magsafe for daily MacBook charging? (the non apple ones)

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone, my MagSafe cable (bought mac in May 2025) has completely stopped charging my MacBook. The cable looks brand new externally — no fraying, no damage anywhere — so it seems like an internal failure.

Confirmed through testing that both my adapter and my MacBook are perfectly fine. It's definitely the cable.

Called Apple Support — they confirmed it's out of warranty and won't replace for free.

My questions:

1. Has anyone gotten Apple to repair or replace a MagSafe cable out of warranty? Worth pushing?
2. Anyone else experienced a MagSafe failing internally with zero external damage? Feels like a manufacturing defect.
3. Any downside to switching to USB-C charging permanently instead of replacing the MagSafe?
4. What is the best option type c or magsafe for daily MacBook charging? (the non apple ones)

Thanks in advance!

Lately I've been wondering if we're slowly heading toward a dystopian future, or if every generation eventually feels this way.

When I look around, a lot of things seem increasingly bleak. It feels like trust is declining, people are becoming more selfish, and everyone is trying to get ahead at someone else's expense. Every day there's news about violence, scams, corruption, wars, exploitation, or some other reminder of how messed up parts of society can be.

Economically, things don't look great either. Unemployment remains a concern, wealth keeps concentrating among a small percentage of people, and many young people feel they'll never have the same opportunities their parents had. It genuinely feels like some people are moving backward financially despite working harder than ever.

Then there's AI. It's advancing incredibly fast, and while it's exciting, many people worry about what happens to jobs in the long run. What's ironic is that I'm literally using AI to help write this post while questioning whether our growing dependence on it is a good thing. That alone feels like a sign of how deeply it's already integrated into our lives.

On the environmental side, every year feels hotter than the last. Water scarcity, pollution, and resource consumption seem like growing problems, especially in parts of South Asia. Fertility rates are falling across much of the world too, and I can't help but wonder how much of that is tied to uncertainty about the future.

When I put all of this together, it sometimes feels like we're moving toward a world that's more unequal, less trusting, and less hopeful.

So I'm curious:

• Do you think we're genuinely heading toward a dystopian future?
• If so, what are the biggest warning signs?
• How far away do you think we are from things becoming irreversibly worse?
• What major problems do you think people aren't paying enough attention to?
• Or am I just focusing too much on the negatives?

I'd love to hear different perspectives, especially from people who know history well. Maybe every generation feels this way, or maybe something really is different this time.

Lately I've been wondering if we're slowly heading toward a dystopian future, or if every generation eventually feels this way.

When I look around, a lot of things seem increasingly bleak. It feels like trust is declining, people are becoming more selfish, and everyone is trying to get ahead at someone else's expense. Every day there's news about violence, scams, corruption, wars, exploitation, or some other reminder of how messed up parts of society can be.

Economically, things don't look great either. Unemployment remains a concern, wealth keeps concentrating among a small percentage of people, and many young people feel they'll never have the same opportunities their parents had. It genuinely feels like some people are moving backward financially despite working harder than ever.

Then there's AI. It's advancing incredibly fast, and while it's exciting, many people worry about what happens to jobs in the long run. What's ironic is that I'm literally using AI to help write this post while questioning whether our growing dependence on it is a good thing. That alone feels like a sign of how deeply it's already integrated into our lives.

On the environmental side, every year feels hotter than the last. Water scarcity, pollution, and resource consumption seem like growing problems, especially in parts of South Asia. Fertility rates are falling across much of the world too, and I can't help but wonder how much of that is tied to uncertainty about the future.

When I put all of this together, it sometimes feels like we're moving toward a world that's more unequal, less trusting, and less hopeful.

So I'm curious:

• Do you think we're genuinely heading toward a dystopian future?
• If so, what are the biggest warning signs?
• How far away do you think we are from things becoming irreversibly worse?
• What major problems do you think people aren't paying enough attention to?
• Or am I just focusing too much on the negatives?

I'd love to hear different perspectives, especially from people who know history well. Maybe every generation feels this way, or maybe something really is different this time.

Lately I've been wondering if we're slowly heading toward a dystopian future, or if every generation eventually feels this way.

When I look around, a lot of things seem increasingly bleak. It feels like trust is declining, people are becoming more selfish, and everyone is trying to get ahead at someone else's expense. Every day there's news about violence, scams, corruption, wars, exploitation, or some other reminder of how messed up parts of society can be.

Economically, things don't look great either. Unemployment remains a concern, wealth keeps concentrating among a small percentage of people, and many young people feel they'll never have the same opportunities their parents had. It genuinely feels like some people are moving backward financially despite working harder than ever.

Then there's AI. It's advancing incredibly fast, and while it's exciting, many people worry about what happens to jobs in the long run. What's ironic is that I'm literally using AI to help write this post while questioning whether our growing dependence on it is a good thing. That alone feels like a sign of how deeply it's already integrated into our lives.

On the environmental side, every year feels hotter than the last. Water scarcity, pollution, and resource consumption seem like growing problems, especially in parts of South Asia. Fertility rates are falling across much of the world too, and I can't help but wonder how much of that is tied to uncertainty about the future.

When I put all of this together, it sometimes feels like we're moving toward a world that's more unequal, less trusting, and less hopeful.

So I'm curious:

• Do you think we're genuinely heading toward a dystopian future?
• If so, what are the biggest warning signs?
• How far away do you think we are from things becoming irreversibly worse?
• What major problems do you think people aren't paying enough attention to?
• Or am I just focusing too much on the negatives?

I'd love to hear different perspectives, especially from people who know history well. Maybe every generation feels this way, or maybe something really is different this time.

Profile snapshot:

- ECE, tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9 | 12th: 9 | UG: 7 CGPA | No backlogs| 23 yo

- GEM category (the worst combination for IIM admits)

- 1.2 years work-ex, currently in programmatic AdTech

- National-level athlete in school (does this even count?)

- Several club titles in college.

The CAT situation:

I've been doing prep for a few months but haven't taken it seriously — mostly because I've been second-guessing whether it's even worth it for my profile. I'm planning to quit my job this July and prepare full-time as a final shot. One attempt, no retries.

Looked at the cutoff data carefully (attached picture). With a 7 CGPA in GEM, the old IIMs are realistically out — their acads shortlisting actively penalises this combination. The colleges where I have a genuine shot seem to start around the 93–97 percentile range: MDI Gurgaon, IIM Indore (HRM/ABM), IIM Sambalpur, IIT-based programs like VGSoM and DoMS Kanpur, and the newer IIMs via CAP/JAP. At 99+, a few more doors open but the GEM + 7 CGPA penalty still applies at WAT-PI.

The alternative I keep thinking about:

Over the last several months I've been doing LLM-related work — automation, workflow building, prompt engineering — entirely on my own initiative, outside my job scope. Also built a full-stack website independently. The hands-on side of AI genuinely interests me in a way my current job never has.

MS in AI/CS abroad (Canada, Germany, or elsewhere with a functional job market for international grads) is the other path. Timeline works out similarly — I'd be in the market at 26 either way.

What I'm actually asking:

1. Given GEM + 7 CGPA, what's a realistic college ceiling if I hit, say, 97–99 percentile? Which names on that list are actually worth two years and 20–25L fees?
2. For people who've been through CAT with a similar acads profile — did the GEM penalty hurt as badly as the data suggests at WAT-PI stage, or does work-ex/extracurriculars offset it?
3. Is quitting in July for 4–5 months of full-time prep a reasonable bet, or is this the kind of decision that only makes sense if I'm targeting colleges I can't realistically reach?
4. Does MS in AI abroad actually beat a mid-tier MBA on a 10-year earnings horizon for someone moving toward tech/AI roles — or is that just what people say?

Thank you for the inputs

https://preview.redd.it/jqjnh5j3k93h1.png?width=1792&format=png&auto=webp&s=50c47eb5e8e5bd02761505919712b5153ce71b8f

https://preview.redd.it/udz24sj2j93h1.png?width=1792&format=png&auto=webp&s=6fd71173156adc59d344012695d7dc259c2b8651

Profile snapshot:

- ECE, tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9 | 12th: 9 | UG: 7 CGPA | No backlogs| 23 yo

- GEM category (the worst combination for IIM admits)

- 1.2 years work-ex, currently in programmatic AdTech

- National-level athlete in school (does this even count?)

- Several club titles in college.

The CAT situation:

I've been doing prep for a few months but haven't taken it seriously — mostly because I've been second-guessing whether it's even worth it for my profile. I'm planning to quit my job this July and prepare full-time as a final shot. One attempt, no retries.

Looked at the cutoff data carefully (attached picture). With a 7 CGPA in GEM, the old IIMs are realistically out — their acads shortlisting actively penalises this combination. The colleges where I have a genuine shot seem to start around the 93–97 percentile range: MDI Gurgaon, IIM Indore (HRM/ABM), IIM Sambalpur, IIT-based programs like VGSoM and DoMS Kanpur, and the newer IIMs via CAP/JAP. At 99+, a few more doors open but the GEM + 7 CGPA penalty still applies at WAT-PI.

The alternative I keep thinking about:

Over the last several months I've been doing LLM-related work — automation, workflow building, prompt engineering — entirely on my own initiative, outside my job scope. Also built a full-stack website independently. The hands-on side of AI genuinely interests me in a way my current job never has.

MS in AI/CS abroad (Canada, Germany, or elsewhere with a functional job market for international grads) is the other path. Timeline works out similarly — I'd be in the market at 26 either way.

What I'm actually asking:

1. Given GEM + 7 CGPA, what's a realistic college ceiling if I hit, say, 97–99 percentile? Which names on that list are actually worth two years and 20–25L fees?

2. For people who've been through CAT with a similar acads profile — did the GEM penalty hurt as badly as the data suggests at WAT-PI stage, or does work-ex/extracurriculars offset it?

3. Is quitting in July for 4–5 months of full-time prep a reasonable bet, or is this the kind of decision that only makes sense if I'm targeting colleges I can't realistically reach?

4. Does MS in AI abroad actually beat a mid-tier MBA on a 10-year earnings horizon for someone moving toward tech/AI roles — or is that just what people say?

Thank you for the inputs

PS: How is Visakhapatnam at 101 percentile out of reach

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't care about just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.

Background:

• ECE from a tier 2.5 college | 10th: 9/10 | 12th: 9/10 | UG: 7/10 | No backlogs
• 1.5 years of work-ex in a field I don't enjoy and don't see myself staying in
• National-level athlete in school, some club involvement in college
• GEM category for CAT

Where I'm at with CAT

Started prep a few months ago, been on a pause for about a month now. My UG being 7 in GEM category realistically rules out the top IIMs. So the question I keep coming back to is — are the colleges I can actually get into worth two years and the fees?

I'm also only writing CAT once. Not because I'm overconfident, but because another year in a job I don't like just to retry doesn't make sense to me.

Why AI has caught my attention

Over the last few months I've been doing a lot of LLM-related work — prompt engineering and workflow automation — on my own initiative at my company. I also built a full frontend and backend website entirely in my own capacity. None of this was part of my job description, I just got into it.

I know this is different from being an ML engineer or AI engineer in the traditional sense — I'm not building models or working on architectures. But working with LLMs got me genuinely curious about the broader AI space, and the intelligence side of it — systems that can reason and adapt — is what I find most interesting.

Math foundation from ECE is decent — linear algebra, probability. I'm willing to spend 6-12 months seriously upskilling before applying if that's what a good program requires.

Practical things I'm figuring out

• Tuition budget is around 40-50L. Is that realistic for a decent MS AI program or am I undershooting?
• US is complicated right now even though I have family there — open to Canada, Germany, or wherever the job market for international AI grads actually holds up
• I'm 23 now. If I leave next year at 24, MS puts me in the job market at around 26 — roughly the same as the CAT route. So the time cost may not be as significant as I first thought
• No specific target role yet — open to wherever the real growth and earnings are in this space

What I'm trying to figure out:

1. For someone with my profile, does an MBA from a realistic college (not top IIMs) actually beat MS in AI abroad on a 10-year earnings horizon?
2. What does the job market genuinely look like right now for international MS AI grads in Canada or Europe?
3. Is 40-50L tuition realistic for a good program, or does a decent program cost significantly more?
4. If you've been at this crossroads — mid-tier undergrad, GEM category, work-ex in something unrelated — what did you choose and would you do it differently?

Would really appreciate perspectives from people who've gone through either path or are currently working in AI. Thanks in advance.