As others have said, a primary degree (bachelor's or your equivalent) in CS or related fields is all you need for entry-level positions; an advanced degree is more for research.

The qualifying examinations for foreigners seeking admission to US graduate schools: the TOEFL and the GRE, are given regularly in Macedonia (in Bitola and Skopje).

In the US, it's said "nobody pays for a Ph.D." What that means is, you need to seek out a program and a professor who wants you in his lab, enough to pay for your tuition and living out of grant money, teaching assistantships, or the like. What you need are contacts, especially profs who will recommend you to colleagues in the countries where you want to study.

Similarly, if you want to work in the US, you need contacts. To get into the US on a "specialty occupation" (H1-B) visa, you need an employer to sponsor you. This is possible, and more than 100,000 workers, many in CS, come into the US each year. The catch is, you must already know an employer who wants you to come work for them.

There are many frauds surrounding the US H1-B visa program. Generally, anybody who wants to charge you advance fees, or subject you to an indenture that must be paid off, is operating a scheme to defraud. Be careful. Work off of only recommendations made by people you know well and trust.

Thanks for the links, did some reading and it looks like I'll be missing this year's deadline for those scholarships. I did some fast research into education in Norway, some websites mention that education is free there... Is that really so, or are there some unmentioned, hidden expenses (apart from living / travel expenses and similar regular stuff)?

@jungletoad

So, you're suggesting that I put not that much work into postgraduate and focus more on getting a job immediately after I finish undergraduate studies? That is kind of what I was thinking, to find a place where I can do my postgraduate studies, preferably somewhere in west or north of Europe, and find myself a job in the same time. I don't plan on being unemployed just to be able to properly focus on my postgrad.

I think it's a suggestion to think carefully about why you want to do postgraduate study. In your field, it's not a ticket to a better job. While you're studying, you're passing up remunerative work and causing yourself expenses. Understand why you find it important to do this.

If you work for a while and find that you are really in love with doing basic research (not just with the idea of doing basic research), or that you really do need an advanced degree to advance in your specialty, then sit down with your employer and explore the possibility of having your employer pay for all or part of your education.

Post graduate work around here is in Computer Science, which isn't exactly software engineering, but more heavy math and theoretical stuff. Though often someone will work on something "applied" don't expect it to be anything like the kinds of work you'll typically find.

In the US post grad Comp Sci is usually considered only for the true lovers of actual Comp Sci, if you just want a job the extra 3-4 years of experience is worth far more than the extra years of schooling (unless you're going for a really narrow, very difficult job that requires specialized knowledge that is generally only taught in PhD programs).

You can get a job over here with a 4 year degree and some kind of coding work (be it hobbyist or FOSS) to show for yourself. In general most people seem to hate their first few years as you can only get the jobs no one else wants. Most people with seniority find a nice position at one of the few sane, non-abusive companies and stay put. They'll only move if another, similarly ideal job comes along.

That's my experience, maybe someone from the East Coast has completely different views on it, dunno.

Thanks for the reply, and thanks to you too, cjrgreen (and to everyone else I've not quoted and thanked).

From what I've read in this thread, it would be more logical for me to focus on finding a job in the industry, and making postgrad a secondary thing. Another thing going negatively on the postgrad education is the fact that because I will be graduating in June or July, I'm already missing out on most scholarships, and I cannot apply for them now because all my documents are at the university.

I will still be doing postgrad, but won't be focusing much on it. I guess I have to start sending applications for various positions very soon.

Anybody knows a company that has a habit of employing freshly-graduated students? :D