Does anyone regret going back for another degree in CS?

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.

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.

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.

Being 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.