Introduction Link to heading

I am, in general, not very excited about sharing things online. It could be insecurity, or a fundamental thought that there’s no particular value-add to my spouting off my views.

But, I am planning to undertake a change in direction overall, and I think documenting that is a worthy endeavor.

So here I am starting again.

Renewed Studies Link to heading

I have been out of school for coming up on five years now. Quite a while, for someone who spent most of the first twenty-and-some years of their life in school.

While I don’t think perpetual education in the credentialed sense is a virtue (far from it- as my current manager said, it can be a profoundly selfish tendency), I have found myself at a point where, for several reasons, I feel the need to rejoin the academic world.

I suppose, for posterity’s sake, as well as my own reference, I will list my current motivations for this, and briefly, what I plan to be doing.

In pursuit of a Master’s Degree Link to heading

I come from a family that is quite well educated. Though the highest qualification any of us hold is a Masters degree, only a couple of us have pursued our studies to that level.

I intend to join those ranks, and perhaps higher.

In that spirit, I’m taking a few actions now, and more in the future.

I’ll respond to hypothetical questions, some of which I have gotten from others, others I’ve posed myself in quiet moments.

Post-Scriptum: Turns out I wrote this in an interview style. Huh.

INTERLOCUTOR: Why a Master’s degree? Link to heading

As I finished my Computer Science degree a few years ago, I had the opportunity to pursue a Master’s degree at UMass Lowell, one of my two Alma-Maters. For a number of reasons I won’t bother with enumerating here, I did not.

And so, why return to school, after spending half-a-decade in the working world?

The simple answer is that I have begun to discover that my work contributions are not what I wish to be doing.

INTERLOCUTOR: Do you not like your job? Link to heading

Sure, I like it just fine! I’m definitely not saying I dislike my job - far from it. If I were to choose to continue to simply do bog-standard software development, I would have absolutely no qualms continuing as I am, and growing precisely as I have been where I am.

My team is perfectly wonderful. I have no major gripes about any of them, and much good to say about each individual. I would recommend any of them for a role at another company if they asked me, and could find virtues to share with you all.

My manager is equally kind, understanding, and admirable. A man of, what appears to me, integrity, and of course, much wisdom.

The company I work for is equally as fine a company as I’ve found thusfar, and tends to walk the walk, not merely talk the talk.

Does my department have the same foibles as any other technology group? Sure, why not? It isn’t a magical place, merely a very good place. There are territorial disputes, egos, and inefficient procedures and poorly explained (or not well-thought-out) directives. But at a sufficient size, with sufficient people, and a sufficiently large number of goals, inputs, and outputs, you will inevitably hit these pain points. I think if one were to devise a way to avoid them, you’d have solved something fundamental about business and life that would be well worth sharing. I have not, and thus, cannot complain.

My day to day, when I haven’t set myself up for failure by taking too much on board, a perfectly reasonable amount of work. I am given space, in general, to explain myself, and some level of input into next steps.

I like my job just fine.

INTERLOCUTOR: Okay, so what did you mean when you said your “work contributions are not what (you) wish to be doing”? Link to heading

Ahh, well, there’s sort of the rub. I, uhh, don’t find application development in-and-of-itself motivating, stimulating, or, in many cases, a necessary human activity.

This isn’t to say I can’t appreciate a well designed app, or I think everyone is wasting their time (though, I’m sure, some are).

No, it’s just that I, the author here before you, do not enjoy, find satisfaction or interest in the development of certain types of tools, resources, or applications.

INTERLOCUTOR: But you’re a Software Developer… so what do you want to do if not develop… you know… software? Link to heading

Well, first, I’d like to say I am not a Software Developer. I am a human being, with interests and curiousities that lie well outside merely Software Development.

My JOB as of right now is Software Developer. I do sometimes use the shorthand of saying “I am a Software Developer”. But I think the better way to phrase it is “I do software development.” That would be more accurate.

And that is all to say: Being a mind that thinks about the world and produces code that interacts with representations of the world and provides outputs we can interpret in, hopefully, meaningful and substantive ways, can take the shape of many different roles.

I, myself, would prefer to educate and tell stories to others- stories that mean something and provide perspectives and/or insights about the world that others find useful, valuable, or inspiring.

That sounds a bit grandeous, but is accurate in its vagueness.

To be more blunt: I would rather be a teacher, writer, or researcher.

I don’t mean this in the sense of I want to go into academia exclusively. I would like to do that, in essence, basically anywhere. Commercial entities, academia, schools, media, financial or government institutions. I think interacting in society, and contributing to others is the best thing anyone can do. My best contributions, I believe would be in the form of this sort of synthesis and creation of stories and insights that others can utilize.

INTERLOCUTOR: Okay, so, why not do research at your current place of work? Link to heading

Well, first off, I’d love to. If they offered me the job, I’d probably take it in a heartbeat. I think I’d find the work terribly interesting and fun.

But, there are a few barriers.

  1. They tend to take people with Math backgrounds, or CS with more research experience, and from more prestigious institutions.
  2. The roles tend to be for either very accomplished students with a Master’s degree or PhD students.

Now, unfortunately, I don’t have an explicit Math background. I have degrees in Philosophy and Computer Science.

I also, as mentioned above, did not pursue my studies beyond a Bachelors degree.

And thus, am precluded from joining the ranks of the research teams.

Not to mention they are highly siloed from my current roles, and so chances to rub elbows with them come few and far between.

INTERLOCUTOR: Fine, so you want to get a Master’s degree so you can change roles. Do one of those online part-time ones, why not? Link to heading

Oof, there’s the other bit people tend to go for. The online Master’s degree. The part-time Master’s degree.

There is a perfectly reasonable place in the world for such degrees. I think in a world of credentialism and arbitrary barriers, they can be a valuable signifier of the seriousness of a person, willing to commit to learning a subject.

They also can give those who do not have traditional backgrounds the opportunity to grow in their current or new careers without risking much of their livelihood as would be required by a full-time Master’s degree.

However, I have no interest in an online or part-time Master’s degree.

I will enumerate in this case, why I do not find this valuable for my use case.

  1. I wish to do research. For numerous reasons, most universities do not offer research-based Master’s degrees to anyone who is not a full-time student. Similarly, most companies do not want their employees to publish research work on topics associated with their position while also having access to their proprietary information. Neither attitude is unreasonable.
  2. I work best in-person. This response has numerous reasons, between motivation, engagement, and the fact that I’m perfectly distractable. And unfortunately, the vast majority (in fact, almost all of those I’ve looked at) did not offer a sufficient part-time degree with on-campus-only options. And of course, this also precludes exclusively online courses.
  3. I wish to fully engage myself in the process and take away as much as I can, and give back as much as I can. I love to learn. I love to teach. And if I could not take the time to fully learn a subject that I’m paying, obstensibly, a reasonable price for, and merely check the boxes, I’m contributing to the problems I’ve seen and complained about in other venues. I wish to take the process of education seriously. Further, I wish to have the opportunity to T.A. or tutor other students, as often as those opportunities are available. Knowledge gained is useless unless that same knowledge is shared. And I’d love to share as much as I extract. And online degrees are almost-always merely extractive, and often, part-time degrees can be, too.

While I agree from a risk-reward element, for a number of things, the part-time degree would… sort of… make sense, I don’t believe it to be the path towards what I wish to accomplish, and not the best spend of resources and time.

In fact, I would go so far as to say, for me, and my goals, it would be utterly useless, and there is little-to-no-point in me acquiring a Master’s degree if I don’t engage in it fully. The paper, in and of itself, is not the point. Not for me, anyhow.

INTERLOCUTOR: Fine, then, define what you hope to get out of this. What IS the point? Link to heading

Well, other than what I’ve already stated, perhaps to pursue a PhD eventually. I have some things I’m interested in, but I’m also generally curious, and willing to participate and learn and contribute whatever I find myself studying and able to help with.

I’m generally motivated by the needs of others, and love to be a resource for others. If I can find a niche and share insights in a meaningful way, to the point where I acquire a PhD, I will be perfectly happy. And, two birds, it will also hopefully set me up for academic or industry positions like the ones I covet (mentioned above).

INTERLOCUTOR: So, what’s next? Link to heading

This fall, I am taking a course. A graduate course. For credit.

Yes, a single one.

No, not enrolled at a program.

INTERLOCUTOR: And thats different from being a part-time degree student how? Link to heading

I’ll get to that, but the long and short is: it has been five years since I’ve been in a classroom. I don’t want to go in cold-turkey.

Second, while my GPA was admirable enough at my previous degree, I would like to get some recent academic credibility before approaching a new degree program, or the application for one. My hope is that taking a graduate level course while working full-time will give myself (and others) the sense I can approach this next step.

INTERLOCUTOR: Okay, then what? Link to heading

Well, by the end of this Fall semester, I plan to submit my application to at least a couple research-based Computer Science Masters of Science degree programs in my area.

Before that, my hope is that I will have done a few things:

  1. Achieved a couple of certificates in Cloud-related skills. This is something my company, and my team, wishes us all to do. And I’m happy to oblige since it is perfectly reasonable to assume that my future in this field will include a good amount of cloud-resource usage.
  2. Achieved a few certificates from EdX in Mathematics. Specifically:
  • Calculus I, II
  • Differential Equations
  • Probability and Statistics
  • Linear Algebra I have taken these courses before, but it’s been years, if we’re honest, since I’ve needed to exercise any of these skills.
  1. Achieved a good reputation for participation in the upcoming graduate-level course, as well as a decent academic record.
  2. Achieved a good reputation at my job for the role I’m currently in. There is little point in trying to succeed somewhere else and letting my skills and reputation fall apart here.

INTERLOCUTOR: And if you got in? Link to heading

First off, if I get in, I’ll be tremendously lucky. And happy.

But, if (and a big if) I get in, it would be for Fall 2026, and I would still have nearly a year to go until my studies would start. My hope would be to continue to work until that point.

Then, starting in that Fall semester, I would resign my position and take up the mantle of full-time student again.

INTERLOCUTOR: Okay, so you won’t be working. What about money? Link to heading

Well, we shall see about specifics, but I have some savings. I also would hope to eventually T.A., if lucky enough. Or be a research assistant.

If I’m tremendously lucky, I could negotiate a contract-basis with my current job. I have no ill will against them, nor am excited to leave them, aside from the academic and eventually professional opportunities afforded by further education.

Worst-comes-to-worst, fine, I’ll dip into savings for a while. It won’t be fun, but it will be functional.

INTERLOCUTOR: Sounds like a bit of a risk. Link to heading

It is.

I’m tremendously nervous about it.

Both the possibilities and promise, and the dread and uncertainty.

But I also am more motivated than I’ve been in years. I feel, once again, I’m on track towards a goal that I can get behind. That I feel is earnestly where I should be going.

That shouldn’t be a definitive guide towards everyone’s actions; that’d be a nightmare. But I feel that there is meaning and purpose behind this goal. I want to give back to others in a way that I’m very capable and excited about.

And if they need me to have done it in the context of higher-education degrees before letting me do it for money, so be it.

INTERLOCUTOR: Do you plan to rejoin industry after finishing? Link to heading

Certainly! I’m not opposed to working in the companies I have worked; but I don’t think the roles currently available to me exercise my skills appropriately, nor do the motivational/incentive techniques that tend to work with those drawn to positions I have been in are appropriate for me. I’m not inherently competitive my nature, nor particular motivated by money, prestige, nor titles. Promotions, in general, don’t excite me. What excites me is teaching someone something new, or making someone’s life easier by gifting them some tool, or insight, or knowledge. Or contributing to a team as a team. Not as an individual contributor, a solo-lone-wolf developer. I want to work with others, tussle with hard questions and help find answers, and turn those answers into something meaningful to all of us.

Software development isn’t a bad profession. It’s a profession for those who find solving the small, practical puzzles encountered on a daily basis satisfying. Those that thrive in the role are there to apply existing (or semi-novel) solutions to new situations.

I want to work to find new solutions (and new problems), and frame the situations for others such that they can see we can solve it.

Will I do more software development in the future? Assuredly.

But I want my future work to be defined, not by an already answered question, but by unanswered ones.