bachelor's degree vs masters?

can someone explain the pros and cons of each, for computer science in particular? i get that completing a master's takes longer; not sure how much more it would cost though in comparison & to what extent it increases the amount of career opportunities/salary in the long run

from what i've been told, people doing masters want to further their knowledge & it would be good if you wanted a more academic/research kind of career, but would it still be worth it if you don't fancy a research career? or would it be better to do a year in industry?

for example, manchester uni has different course variants (see image) and i'm not too sure which one would be best for me - i don't know exactly what i want to do in the field but i want to maximise my career opportunities

Year in industry for sure - the experience is invaluable.

You can pursue a masters, either in CompSci or something else in the future, when you're more sure,

I would also advise you to check with each institute as some universities offering such degrees will allow you to switch from a BSc to an MSc after your 2nd year. So even if you enjoy for the BSc and want to do the extra year for the MSc a lot if universities might accomodate that.

You need to ask around Universities, quite a few of them will initially sign you up for a BSc and let you extend it if you want to change to MEng in later years, some of the MEng courses have optional modules in the BSc that are prerequisite if you plan on doing it in a year extension.

MEng courses fulfill the academic requirements for registration with the associated engineering body for CEng (you don't get it by doing the MEng, it also requires work based learning and a portfolio of stuff from your work after graduation, but the MEng completes all ACADEMIC requirements). Otherwise you have to do a BSc/BEng then a standaolne MSc course that is accredited. Since MSc courses only receive limited funding (£10k total for all costs, no maintenance loans separate) it's usually cheaper to do the MEng since SFE/SLC will cover you with tuition and maintenance loans for all 4 years.

You'll also get the opportunity to do more advanced and specialised modules that may not be available on the 3 year course, and you'll usually do a much more substantial project in the fourth year (sometimes group based, sometimes individual) which usually forms a major selling point for when you're applying for grad jobs.

i didnt quite understand the first paragraph

In engineering fields (including, I believe, computer science) there is a "qualification" of Chartered Engineer (CEng). This exists as, in England, the term "Engineer" is not a protected, and anyone can call themselves an engineer. In most other countries, there are legal protections about the term engineer (as with lawyer/solicitor/physician/surgeon and similar) and it is illegal to call yourself an engineer without having fulfilled certain prerequisites (both academic and professional).

This is remedied in the UK by the existence of CEng which demonstrates these qualities have been met. Many senior roles in engineering require or prefer CEng certification. This is met by having completed study to masters level or equivalent on an accredited course(s), as well as building up a porfolio of relevant work in industry.

It's not necessary but it carries some kudos with it, and if you intend to remain with computer science/engineering is definitely a benefit if you can get it (or work towards it). If your plan is to go into e.g. finance or something else then it doesn't really matter.

The latter part about additional courses and projects still holds true in either case