I actually read your blog on this while applying :). It was very helpful and part of my initial decision was exactly your quote to yourself at the top of the post. I do think I underestimated the time tradeoff as I generally breezed through my undergraduate coursework.

These are all good points to consider, and I definitely think I learn better & am more motivated when learning via projects, rather than the classroom environment. Work is more of a question mark, am on the lookout for what I want to do after having found analytics work unrewarding. Have considered SWE and product management, I just feel very _behind_ in the former (doubly so in research). Additionally I do feel I would generally enjoy a more social role. Regardless, thank you for the reply, this is a good framework for thinking about if this will be valuable or not.

Edit: Additionally, reading your post again: really like the point about figuring out what you don't know. Right now there seems to be so much 'magic' that I cannot comprehend; definitely feel that satisfying that curiosity is one reason to push through.