MRes at Imperial vs MSc at Queen Mary?

Hi everyone,

I’d really appreciate some advice. I recently graduated with a BSc in Computer Science from a non-Russell Group university and applied to a few master’s programmes at more prestigious universities to improve my job prospects.

So far, I only have a summer internship from last year and unfortunately wasn’t able to secure a graduate role this year. Rather than spending a year just job-hunting, I thought it would be better to pursue a master’s at a stronger university to boost my chances.

Right now, I have two offers:

• MSc in Artificial Intelligence at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL)

• MRes in Machine Learning and Big Data in the Physical Sciences at Imperial College London

My original plan was always to do an MSc since it’s typically more geared towards industry jobs. However, Imperial didn’t accept me for their MSc and instead offered me a place on the MRes.

Here’s my dilemma:

Will the MRes at Imperial actually make me more employable in normal industry roles compared to the MSc at QMUL just from the fact that Imperial is much more prestigious — or is an MRes seen as less relevant for jobs outside research ? In the rankings it’s second in the world after only MIT and it’s above Oxbridge and Harvard.

Also the bonus with the MRes is that it could also open the door to a funded PhD and a potential career in academia, which adds another option for stability right?
But my main goal has always been industry, not academia. But academia seems like a more stable career compared to the rat race CS grads are going through right now.

So my question is: which of these paths would be better if my main goal is to get a job quickly and secure a stable career? The MSc at QMUL or the MRes at Imperial?

Any guidance or experiences would be massively appreciated. I can only do a masters once , so I don’t want to end up regretting my choice.