> Sounds like you want to work as a dev, which you already are, but are hoping a degree will open doors at larger, more prestigious companies, perhaps for more money. Is that what you want?

Pretty much. I'm mainly looking for security. I might eventually want to become a manager, as I start caring more about people and less about code.

My dream was to be a HCI researcher, but I think it's too late for that.

> I would guess that it’s necessary but not sufficient. I’m guessing you also need a very good resume and coding chops, and maybe the right connections wouldn’t hurt. I have never applied to those, but I know a couple of people who work there. If you want to know what you’re in for in an interview, get a copy of ‘Cracking the Coding Interview’.

I looked into this stuff. I'm not great at it. I'd rather do higher-level stuff, like architecture and design. Maybe non-FAANG tech companies in the US would be a good compromise.

> Getting BS in anything is a lot of work. Getting STEM degree is a fucking lot work. I had to work 60 – 80 hours a week as a CS senior. There was room for almost nothing else in my life. (Pro tip: as a student (and probably anything else hard) make time for reasonable diet, exercise, sleep, and going out side in full day light even if you think you don’t have time. If you don’t, you will go slowly insane and perform badly.)

I never thought school was very difficult. Learning things I'm not interested in is more challenging, but not difficult. I'm more concerned with the volume of work than I am concerned with anything else.

> Unless you you quit CS right at the end of your senior, how do you know you wouldn’t learn anything? In my opinion, the most valuable CS classes were probably D&A, Analysis of Algorithms, Software Eng., Programming Languages/compilers, and maybe Discrete Math.

I'm learning every day and I regularly watch lectures or read research papers in my spare time. I expect most of CS courses to be about things I've been exposed to before, albeit not in depth. I have already internalized how these topics fit within everyday software development, and I can appreciate them in a way that someone who's never been exposed to them can't. Isn't it much easier to learn something you can already relate to, as opposed to some alien abstract concept that only make sense in retrospect? I can't really tell without seeing what a "difficult" course looks like.

> My school had things like this. Ask the advisors while you are shopping for college(s).

Wouldn't this solve all my problems? Seems to good to be true. I wonder what their requirements are.

> Here are the questions I would need to answer yes to before proceeding:

> --Can you afford to go to school for a few years without working?

Yes, although I will feel the opportunity cost.

> --Can you handle the pressure of college while remaining reasonably well adjusted and mentally healthy? (Was it ok the first time? Can you handle people younger than you being ahead in their work? Triage of deadlines, bad grades, scolding instructors and childish policies without freaking out?)

I think school is generally well-structured and relatively easy. But I've never had to deal with other obligations when going to school. I'm not worried about other students or instructors, I would do an online degree. I do have a problem with procrastination.

> --Do you have enough slack to finish behind schedule?

Yes, but I would feel devastated.

> --Will you be satisfied with the result of meeting the BS requirement even if interviewing afterwards is brutal, and you still feel like an impostor?

No. I guess my excuse would switch from lacking a degree to lacking coding interview skills, and I would post "Ask HN: Practicing 'Cracking the Coding Interview' at 32".

> --Have you tried looking at/applying for jobs that have the BS requirement, so you know really know what the next step will be, and what your in for?

I have not. I only interviewed at one company, and only worked there. The interview was easy. Pretty much all my coworkers had BS degrees. My performance was on a par with if not better than theirs.

For a decade, I thought I was special and would change the world. The delusion is now fading, and I'm trying to reverse it by seeking conformity and security. I guess that's what happen when you get older and more mature.