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Comment by scottyah | Hacker News Reader

It's a socially acceptable break from your work that doesn't guarantee losing money. If you find yourself getting specialized in an industry you are falling out of love with, your company doesn't offer sabbaticals, and you don't exactly know what you want to do next it's a great option.

That may be a Band-Aid covering a red flag, and this may be a special circumstance, but the people I know considering continued education are feeling this.

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This is the primary reason most of the MBAs I know did it as well. There are very few socially acceptable ways to pivot your career, and an MBA is one of them.

For example I know several people that wanted to pivot into something more software focused. There are boot camps, but they’re looked down on. Most colleges will not allow you to enroll for a bachelor’s in CS if you already have a bachelors in something else (and also is looked down on), and likewise a master’s in CS is very unlikely. So instead they went for an MBA that has a specialization in data analytics, which for many has been a good foot in the door to more tech-focused roles.

> Most colleges will not allow you to enroll for a bachelor’s in CS if you already have a bachelors in something else (and also is looked down on), and likewise a master’s in CS is very unlikely.

I’m skeptical of this claim.

Programs like the Georgia Tech Online Masters in Computer Science were tailor made for this scenario - and I’ve known several who have followed it to great success.

Edit: looking into it - blocking second baccalaureates seems to be mostly a problem with California schools. Plenty of other state schools have no such restriction:

https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/prep...

Georgia Tech’s online computer science major lists a preferred qualification of already holding a bachelors in CS, math, computer engineering, or electrical engineering, so I don’t think it’s “tailor made” for people that are looking for a mid-career pivot from non-tech to tech.

I suppose non-STEM is a different case - the people I knew were Chemistry and Mechanical engineering backgrounds.

I’d probably tell someone to grab some CS classes at a community college and apply anyway.

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