[ghaff]

As someone who has a BS and an ME, electrical and mechanical are very different. I got a mechanical degree undergrad and I might have done things differently in retrospect because fiddling with mechanical things is not really my forte. Though ended up as essentially a project manager and then a product manager so didn't really matter.

I fully agree that, especially as someone who has worked, the key question is "Why?"

[hndecision1234]

It's just something that I've always wished I pursued, and on a general note I would like to just have a degree in something.

[sky2224]

I think you need to spend some time actually doing some of these things that you feel that you want to pursue before committing to a university degree in order to pursue them.

A lot of people mistake the idea of being something as something they like versus the process involved in being that thing. What I mean by this is, you might find you like the idea of being an ME/EE, but once it gets down to the day-to-day work in learning and being that, you may find you actually hate it.

So, start learning the basics on your own. Do a project, then re-evaluate and see if going to university would be the right choice.

As for going back to school for computer science: I would only say to do that if you plan to go straight into a graduate program. Undergrad computer science is not worth it if you already are in industry. If you feel like you're missing something, there are many books and resources that are better and significantly more interesting to work out of than what an undergrad program will offer you.

[ghaff]

It's not totally a bad thing but I think a lot of people get undergrad degrees in something they think they're interested in and it turns out they're really not so they end up only peripherally using their undergrad major when they get a job.

[culopatin]

I’m one year older and basically on the same path. I always thought that other devs that had an undergrad in computer science had something in their toolbelt that I didn’t know because I didn’t go to school.

I’m 76% done with my CS degree and I’m not sure it’ll be worth it.

There are some classes I wouldn’t have taken on my own if I didn’t have the pressure like discrete math 2, stats, but to be honest in about 2 months of not using them I’m going to forget it all anyway.

Coincidentally when I dropped out of college in my early 20s I was in mech eng. I build engines and race cars as a hobby and I always wanted to gain a more scientific edge. I also dabble in circuits and have an electronic technician degree from HS so I feel like you and I may share a lot.

School takes just the right mindset. I did everything online. The first two years are honestly a waste of time and money. Non science Gen Eds at 32 are ridiculous and I almost dropped again just because of how irrelevant that all was for my adult life. In particular because I had dropped out half way before.

Anyway, I don’t know if life is different after getting the degree but I feel more confident when I pass hard classes and I inch to the end. I started applying for jobs I would’ve normally looked from afar, because I’m more convinced that I have what it takes (and it didn’t come from school).

I still think of doing mechanical engineering at least once a week.

1992-1993 was a good time.

[ghaff]

>I would like to just have a degree in something

Maybe get a certificate in something you're genuinely interested in? If you're a Linux person, there are any number of Linux Foundation and Red Hat certificate programs. See also Microsoft.

There's a lot of time, money, and generalized BS involved in a university degree. Sure, it's sort of a rite of passage out of high school. But I never seriously considered getting another degree later in my career.

There are tons of probably more practically useful certificate programs out there for someone who is already working. Maybe if you're seriously thinking about switching fields/roles but, again, that comes back to "why are you doing this?" It's presumably not for the piece of paper. I don't even know where my pieces of paper are.

[intended]

What would you like to build if you had that degree?