Does anyone regret going back for another degree in CS?
I was spending some time learning Unix on OpenBSD, as well as Vim and Python, and enjoying it. But I can't help feeling I'm wasting my time without the piece of paper, if my goal is to be able to spend my days building software - even if it were maintaining some old crusty old system in Java, I think I'd enjoy it more. And the time I'm spending on that means I'm not spending it on keeping up my skills for my data analyst role, like brushing up on ML (though I'm not really interested in this..) etc.
The problem is, the opportunity cost of going back is hard to stomach. Giving up a decent salary, paying tuition, moving away (3 hrs away or so) from family members after being away from them for so long, it all seems so costly that I'll regret it. However, if I don't go through with it, I think I'd regret that too - that I didn't take the chance to be doing something else for the next 30+ yrs that I'd enjoy more.
So, I could use some advice on a way forward. Is being an excellent dev even feasible if it isn't your day job? And if anyone has gone through something similar, I'd love to hear how it went for you - did you regret going back to school, or not, and why?
For anyone who reads this, thank you for your time.
12 comments
[ 3.5 ms ] story [ 36.6 ms ] threadBeing so agreeable is easier in the short-term, as it allows you to avoid making difficult decisions. The cost is your long-term happiness.
And going back to school (aka a vacation) sounded great - I would get exposed to all the basics in a compressed format vs. wasting time fumbling about teaching myself. Sort of like why I went to film school 20 years ago... which is another story again similar to yours.
One track of the MSc program was for people doing a conversion course, so I got out of a few classes thanks to all my previous experience (you might be able to do that). In the process of doing original research for my thesis, I realized at this point in my life I liked doing ML research - I'd been sliding into "research" over the past few years of jobs, so it all made sense. And academia is a different environment than industry, so something new to deal with. So I've been hanging around the uni doing research type work, TA jobs, etc. for the past few years.
So what might you learn about yourself by going back to school - versus getting even more stuck in the rut/groove you are in? I was 30 years old only a decade ago (I am actually 50...) Time has a way of speeding up the older you get. Do you want to be doing the same thing a decade from now? Or be in management?
My advice is, based on what you said, and whatever unconscious biases I might have, is to go back to school. You are certainly young enough to take a detour for a few years (like I did with film school) and having a CS degree along with your data analyst experience will make you pretty valuable. It sounds like you really like programming, so I wouldn't try to suppress that (like I did with writing screenplays - IT is much more time/cost-effective and profitable unfortunately and it is so very similar to writing actually).
Weigh the personal costs against the probable long term benefits of learning something you really like and which is more valuable career wise than sticking to data analysis - are they really that costly? Fundamentally, programming is a craft. There are plonkers who do it only for the money, but they are not ... I get the impression you want to be a craftsman, so you should be willing to suffer for your art :) It is the only thing that will keep you motivated when you are on a solo death march.
And if you really do need credentials to get a dev job in the public sector, then you need the degree. Perhaps it is as simple as that.
However, I'm guessing I might need to start at the bottom again. Probably wouldn't be able to just waltz into a full dev position with my data analyst experience I'm guessing. That'd mean accepting a huge decrease in salary.
Maybe learning enough outside of work to begin contributing to open source projects that interest me would be enough to scratch the itch.. or perhaps some freelancing/building software to sell on the side? Is it feasible to really get good at it if isn't my full time job though, I'm not sure..
One thing I was thinking of doing, if I decided against the degree, was really digging into some open source data engineering projects like dbt and airflow. Even just reading the source code and getting a good understanding of it if I can't contribute. My thinking was that even if no positions labelled as "data engineer" exist, it might do something to help me maneuver into a data analyst/science labelled position where modern data engineering is really what's needed.
I think work experience in place of a degree only works if you've been kind of grandfathered in unfortunately, so a related degree is usually a hard requirement.
Also, formal employers like public service usually consider your postdoc subject as equivalent to degree subject. And I have colleagues with chemistry and physics degrees who got the job just because they did a computer science subject.
The kind of 1 year MS in CS masters requiring little or no background that exist in the US aren't really available in Canada as far as I know.
I've been working for the public sector for a decade now. There are plenty of dev jobs in this sector, if you seek out those of us who sell SaaS software to government entities. Many of the jobs I'm aware of in this sector are remote jobs, almost none of them require a degree. The software needed by public entities is also different than private - we tend to deal with specialized needs and regulatory environments, so you can walk in the door with added value to your employer when you already understand the needs of this sector.
Doesn’t the public sector contract out a huge amount of their technology anyway? There are tech companies that do things like help cities optimize bus routes, or sell Saas or data products that governments use (e.g. palantir).
Surely you can find a private sector programming job where you’ll have a much bigger impact on solving public sector problems than working for the public sector. Maybe even start your own company down the road.
And I have to think that since you do have a college degree just not in CS, once you get a few years programming experience under your belt you could even get hired for a public sector programming job, although I don’t have any experience with that and don’t know for sure.
University is overrated. If suggest you start working on you own pet projects, as your enthusiasm is sure to die once you have to program for a living instead of for recreation.