Should I pursue a degree in computer science for software engineering?

Should I go back to school for another graduate degree after more than 5 years of work experience in leading software companies and education from top universities in India and the US?

• I am currently working as a Senior Software Engineer at one of the leading software companies in Silicon Valley. I have been in the industry for around 5 years and have worked for some of the leading companies e.g. (Amazon, Microsoft, eBay etc). I have a MS degree in Computer Science from a top 15 US university and have done considerably well in school. For the last 1 year, I have been feeling dissatisfaction in my profession and am thinking of going back to school (Stanford or Berkeley) to pursue another graduate degree in interdisciplinary field like Computational Mathematics or Management Science and Engineering. Though I am doing well in my career economically, I feel that going back to school and getting another degree from universities like Stanford/Berkeley would improve my brand value and also give me a an opportunity to learn from some of the best faculty around. It would be a great opportunity to network with some of the best engineers around and be part of strong alumni network that Stanford/Berkeley provides. At some point in my career, I want to start a startup and I believe my education and network from Stanford/Berkeley would be of immense help. A degree from Stanford/ Berkeley would be of added advantage and in this process I would definitely learn something new. I am debating if this is the right line of thinking and am hoping to hear from people who have gone through similar feelings at some point in their life.

• Answer:

  I didn't follow the exact same path but faced a similar challenge 15 years ago. I came from a pure technology background and I had worked for a big 5 consulting firm for 6 years. I wanted to do "more".  I opted for an MBA from a top ten ivy league school because I wanted more control over my life and over business decisions.  I didn't feel comfortable calling out team members on decisions that I didn't think made sense. I constantly felt that not being able to understand "business", to appreciate "context" was holding me back, personally as well as professionally. The graduate program in business changed my life. It wasn't just context. It was new frameworks that I hadn't explored as part of my technology education. A different view of looking at the same problems. My biggest challenge was understanding pricing and marketing and relating to peers from a non-technology background.  But much more important than education, it was the boost in self confidence, the faith in "if everyone else can, so can I", that really made a difference. To be fair. I was lucky. I found a school that allowed me to exempt out of core courses and craft a program that was suited to my interest. I found classmates who played as big a role in my education as the school. When I resigned to enroll in the program, my boss felt that I was making a mistake. In his opinion the opportunity cost and the perceived kick in my value post graduation wasn't worth it. If I had stayed on the same path he would have been right. But I didn't. I did things post graduation that I would have never thought of doing before. So in short, the answer is yes. But I would recommend that if you are looking at Stanford, look at business rather than tech. In the longer run "context" matters. And the business school at Stanford does a great job of teaching that.