Published on 2025-10-18 13:31 by Kevin Coyle

And in October of ‘25 he said, let’s get a Masters

Masters, now?

Ever since graduating from a coding bootcamp I’ve wondered if the next step was to get a formal education in Computer Science. Part of this was imposter syndrome, part of this was plain need to level up skills, and the other part was just a love of learning. I’ve been in this industry for enough time to be considered a Senior, and I believe I have acquired the requisite skills to actually occupy that position. The next plataeu of Staff/Principle though? I think it requires another leveling up.

There is also family motivation (in two directions). First, we don’t have a lot of graduate degrees in my family, on any side of the tree. This could be a great opportunity to show that my bloodline can do this thing. Second, in a short while, I’ll have a step-daughter who is going off to college. Maybe this can inspire her to go beyond undergrad.

Age

AI rendering of me waiting for the bus

There’s no shortage of reasons to not do this. I’m already in a career, what transactional benefit does this provide? An online masters doesn’t offer networking (relative to what I’d assume would happen in an in-person degree). There’s relatively less name brand recognition with the school I’m attending.

And then there’s the obvious issue of not being in my 20s anymore. This IG reel might explain it:

I don’t think I’m not alright? Maybe this is a cry for help

Overall motivation

I guess none of those detractors really matters all that much to me. Maybe that is part of what makes being > 29 years old great. You just do things that make sense to you, crowd wisdom be damned.

My strongest motivation is just the pure enjoyment of learning. What’s the point in making great money in tech and having a midlife crisis if I can’t enjoy it with stuff I like?

Written by Kevin Coyle