Ask HN: Should I get a Master's in CS?

As an undergrad I studied Industrial Engineering, which included plenty of data analysis, which was how I first fell in love with coding. But this lack of CS education leaves me with big gaps in understanding of computer architecture, operating systems, networking, compilers etc.

I eventually forced my way into a software engineering career, going on about 4 years now ( I am 27). I have worked on web apps, back office microservices, big data platforms, etc. All in Python, so pretty far from the metal although I have started dabbling in Go and Rust in my spare time to force myself to think more about types, memory, etc.

I really find myself hungry to dig deeper and work on lower-level technical problems that deal with operating systems, networking & infrastructure, etc - think like working on next-gen infrastructure like HashiCorp as a dream job.

I do not know if I could necessarily reach my desired level of experience and skill without attending a formal CS program, both due to the formal instruction and overall structure and motivating aspect of the Master's program.

However, I (financially) would not be willing to stop working, so I would be doing it nights and weekends, stretching a Master's out over 3-5 years so it doesn't completely kill me when combined with full time work. This seems like a really long, intimidating commitment. On the other hand, it seems pretty worth it to have the degree and knowledge base I want in hand before 35.

If I went through with it, my top program choice would probably be USC - highly ranked program with an option specifically tailored for those without CS Bachelors, and the option to combine online and in-person instruction.