Should I get an MS or a second bachelor's?

[thinkpad20]

I'm 27 years old. I graduated with a physics degree about 5 years ago, but now I'm interested in a career in computer science. Specifically, I'm most interested in researching artificial intelligence and/or computer vision. I don't have any computer science classes in college or industry experience, so I'm starting basically from scratch, outside of general computer savvy.

 

What's a good path for a person in my position to take? Living in the "real world" means that I have to worry about bills and getting old, two things that don't get along well with going back to college. But at the same time, even if I could get into a good master's program (which, maybe I couldn't) I'd be probably far behind my classmates at least initially, and even with such a degree I'm not sure I could get into a PhD program on that alone, which is what I'd really like to do.

 

What would people suggest? Would a second trip to college be a feasible option? Might I be able to get it done fairly quickly with crossover credits, and possibly even save money compared to a master's? There's lots of things to think about.

[aimforthehead]

Well, I was pretty computer savvy myself when I got into computer science. I figured, I'm pretty good at math/logic, and I like computers, so programing should come naturally! Well I took a java programming course that was well, a little above beginner, and I had the hardest time after about half way through the semester. This semester I am taking Python which actually is a beginner course and I'm having an easier time. Don't have the experience to say if returning to college is recommended or not, but I would suggest taking a beginning programming class. In my programming courses I see people from all different ages coming in, it doesn't really seem to be a factor in how well you understand the material if that was your concern. Not sure about getting a degree in CS "quickly". The stuff is tough and you probably have to spread out the courses to comprehend it or you'll end up overwhelmed (unless you happen to be pretty damn intelligent and quick-learning).

[thinkpad20]

Well, I was pretty computer savvy myself when I got into computer science. I figured, I'm pretty good at math/logic, and I like computers, so programing should come naturally! Well I took a java programming course that was well, a little above beginner, and I had the hardest time after about half way through the semester. This semester I am taking Python which actually is a beginner course and I'm having an easier time. Don't have the experience to say if returning to college is recommended or not, but I would suggest taking a beginning programming class. In my programming courses I see people from all different ages coming in, it doesn't really seem to be a factor in how well you understand the material if that was your concern. Not sure about getting a degree in CS "quickly". The stuff is tough and you probably have to spread out the courses to comprehend it or you'll end up overwhelmed (unless you happen to be pretty damn intelligent and quick-learning).

 

 

I'm currently taking the introductory computer science class on MIT's OpenCourseWare, which is a Python class. I'm about halfway through and I'm understanding the material just fine, at least, enough to know that I'd be getting a very good grade if I were actually sitting the course. For me the big issue is finding a good program that can put me on a PhD track - once I'm in said program, I'm not so worried about the material being too difficult, because I know I can work hard and learn it.

 

How quickly I earn the degree is only relevant in a practical sense, as speed of learning will affect both how soon I can go to graduate school (in a funded PhD program), and perhaps more importantly, how much debt I accrue over the course of my study. I wouldn't particularly mind going to college for another 4 years, but my bank account would.