[NtochkaNzvanova]

There are basically two things you get by pursuing an MS instead of just picking up the same knowledge on your own: (1) more structure and (2) a credential. (Okay, three: if you're junior, it's a way to continue building your network. But this isn't relevant for you.)

It sounds like you see value in (1). You're a little unclear on whether you want (2), since first you say your goal is not career progression, but then you ask how this is viewed by companies and recruiters.

From the perspective of someone who has been in the position of screening and interviewing technical candidates, both ICs and managers, most MS degrees don't add a lot to a resume IMO. If it's from a mid- or low-tier school, or an online program, I don't really put much stock in the quality of the program. Even upper-tier schools more and more give off the perception that you're just paying for a credential. I would say that if you have the motivation to learn the material on your own, and then put it into practice in a demonstrable way in your actual work (which seems like something that should be tractable, given your role), that would have more value.

[jgilbertson47]

Good call out on (2). The credential itself is more important to me than I initially thought. I did a full-time MBA at a young age and have always regretted not doing a technical master's.

I appreciate the thoughts on self-motivation and demonstrable projects. I'm already doing this, although I find myself wanting to learn too many things, which can cause me to lose focus. The structure helps here. I'm familiar with initiatives like the Open Source Society University, but I am not interested as it's nice to do these classes with other folks.

The program would be the Stanford Honors Cooperative Program or something similar where there isn't an oversized part-time/remote cohort.