If computer science for aerospace industries appeals to you, here’s a program to consider: http://www.erau.edu/db/degrees/ma-softwareeng.html
If you’re looking for opportunities at companies that do things better, you should take a look at CMU’s Master of Software Engineering program. That would be less of a switch but still a step in the right direction.
Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll check them out.
I was working in a shitty office job shuffling papers around when I decided I wanted to work in international development, a career that, it turns out, usually requires a masters in a relevant field (I only had a BA in a mostly irrelevant field) or lots of experience (nope). I decided to get a masters, but since I doubted I would even be able to get in to any of the better programs, I became a Peace Corps Volunteer to get some experience. Now I’m about to start my second year of working on my masters in public policy, in a program that US New & World Report ranks in the top ten in the field. I’m writing to you from India, where I just finished my summer internship working at an NGO.
Because being a Peace Corps Volunteer is not exactly a great way to make a lot of money, I’m pretty much broke. I am paying for my education largely with loans - like most masters students, I was not guaranteed a TAship or research assistanceship or anything like that. I do have a small grant from my school.
I don’t regret it for a second. If anything, I regret that it took me so long to resist the inertia of my old life to change things.
Of course, I HATED my old job and the path I was on. If I had sort of liked it okay, I might have some kind of regrets.
Hi Waffle,
To build on what previous posters have said, I recommend giving serious thought to your PUSH – PULL ratio. In other words, are you wanting a change primarily as a result of something (or things) pushing you away from your current career, or as a result of something pulling you to a new career? Usually the answer is not 100% one or the other, but generally the higher the PULL side of the equation the better your chance of long-term success.
Also, please keep in mind that liking the output of a job does not necessarily mean that making that output will be to your liking. For example, you might like flying airplanes, but the math and physics required to design them might bore you to death.
Please don’t think I am trying to discourage you from switching careers – I’m just trying to point out a few things to consider. Whatever you decide, best wishes for a long and successful career. 