Paths for a degreeless but established SWE to pivot into AI research

[spohara]

Background: US resident, 24yo with 6 years of software engineering experience. Taught myself to code when I was young, skipped college and dove straight into the industry (long story); now looking to expand my horizons.

I'd like to develop a reasonably rigorous background in as much CS and math as would be realistic while balancing my job. Luckily my workload is fairly moderate, so I'd be able to commit up to 25h/week. My end goal would be to do a master's program like GT's OMSCS then ultimately pivot into the AI space. My time-frame for this is 4-5 years. Budget isn't a huge concern.

I was initially strongly considering doing WGU's program, but became a bit concerned at the (relatively) lesser emphasis on math, and the lack of options for electives. This is unfortunate because it gives me less of a reason to care about certain theoretical topics, and might not fully prepare me for the direction I want to go. Given that I'm already in the industry, I'm looking at this more as a way to advance myself intellectually than getting my foot in the door.

After discovering this forum I've seen some people pursue a CS BA + Math (AA/BA) path with TESU, which I think might be the best option to pursue my interests and optimally position me for OMSCS/research.

Given my circumstances does this seem like the best route, or should I consider alternate options?

My opinion, which is worth as much as you pay for it:

Get laser focused, and ask yourself EXACTLY what you want and what is priority.  Intellectual advancement? That can be done without a degree.  Strong base in mathematics? Same thing.  There are industry certs, udemy, coursera, self study, libraries, youtube etc.  A masters might get you into AI easier in the job market.  If pivoting into AI research at an academic institution, or being an AI practitioner in industry is your primary goal, then degrees can help get you there, and that is where you may want to focus. 

As far as which bachelors degree - how well you do in each program and the actual courses you take are going to matter more for graduate admissions, and I'm fairly certain graduates of both programs have gotten into the OMSCS program you want to get into.

If you like the flexibility of the electives, then you've answered your own question.  Within those free electives, you may be able to get in courses that both fit your interest and make you a stronger applicant.  Find out what the pre-reqs are and what will make you look competitive.  Ask others who have gotten in what their degree looks like.

Final word of caution - This forum is here to help people save time and money with extensive use of alt-credits. That comes at a cost - a cost most of us are willing to bear either because we already have the requisite knowledge, or because we don't see a topic as particularly relevant to our career, or are able to fill in the gaps with self study later.  If you're entire purpose is intellectual advancement, I don't recommend a lot of the alt-credit sources as they are not always the highest possible quality (though if getting to the masters program as quickly as possible is the purpose, they can be helpful).