Ask HN: Good ways to become a professional data miner?

First of all, I'm astonished by the overall level of intelligence and tech saavy here. I am in the company of truly brilliant people, which is why I have come here with my questions.

I am probably among the least of you: I have a B.S. in Management Information Systems. It's sort of a mcCompsci degree. I have been out of school and working as a programmer (web front-end, proprietary middle-tier backend for our application, using the ANSI SQL 92 standard for Oracle, SQL and DB2) for two years.

My biggest accomplishment at this company has been writing an advanced search function that requires very dynamic and robust SQL that is generated on the fly. In the process, I have learned that I am exceptional at querying, manipulating, and otherwise shaping data into something usable. I also have a natural knack for statistics -- I played online poker to make about $7 an hour in college, and have been able to coast through probability classes and make straight As on pure intuition, without memorizing formulas.

Because of these two talents I have, I am seriously considering trying to build a long-term career as a data miner. My company has a data mining group that I might be able to move into if I can build the credentials and establish the cred.

I would very much like to go back to school and receive a master's degree in something. Appealling options are computer science, statistics, and psychology. I would also like to learn new, valuable skills, and perhaps earn certifications, but I'm not sure what.

My question for you is -- what are my best options, if I want to move into a data mining / data shaping role?