Ask HN: Career advice sought; am I having a quarter-life crisis?
I am a late-twenty-something software engineer who works for one of the major tech companies. Lately I find myself dreaming about having taken a different path; specifically, I wonder what my life would have been like if I had become a scientist. Realistically it is too late for me to do an about-face, but I've been toying with the idea of getting a masters in one of the hard sciences and putting my software engineering skills to work in a research or applied setting. Specifically I am thinking of a masters in Physics, but I'm open to other possibilities.
Assuming that my goal is the loosely defined dream of any good nerd (I want to write code that runs on a rocket or in a component of the LHC, etc.), how practical would a masters in physics be? Is this even necessary? Would another degree be more appropriate? How many jobs like this (I realize that is very vague) actually exist?
...and truthfully, I'm not sure this is even coming from a logical place. I've spent the past few years myopically focused on sharpening my technical skills; when I finally lifted my head up to examine my life, I found myself disappointed with what I am using my skills for. I can't stop thinking about the incredible contributions made by past generations that have altered the course of humanity. I'm haunted by climate change, global hunger and thirst, our crippling dependence on oil, and many other problems for which there is a technical (at least in part) solution. Although nobody can really answer this for me, I would love some perspective on this point. Are these feelings common? I may just be struggling with the burden of an adult conscience and sense of mortality, to which the solution isn't necessarily changing my career.
So; I'm hoping to learn more about software development in applied science and research, and I would love to hear thoughts from others who have felt similarly. Thanks for reading this. :)