Sorry for yet another question about getting a MS in CS question, but I did a search through old posts and I think my question is unique-ish.
I got a degree in Hebrew Literature in College, I taught myself how to program and I've been working at a pretty decent startup in the Seattle area for 3 years now. I have some decent projects on Github. I have some decent chops, I'm pretty much full stack, and I've been working through an Algorithms and Data Structures book (Sedgewick's) on my own and really getting into it. It made me wonder if I should go back to school and get an MS.
My company is doing well, but I think I'd like to branch out technically after I'm done there, and try new things other than Web/Mobile CRUD. Embedded looks interesting, and I've built a DSL compiler in JavaScript, so learning more about compilers would be fun.
I'm also worried that my status as a really good Engineer won't transfer between companies. It took me a good year to convince people at my current company that I could do much more than work on the front-end.
The University of Washington is, supposedly, a really good CS school. They offer a professional Masters degree. Will this solidify my status as a good Engineer? Is this something I need or should I continue to learn on my own and trust that good people will recognize my work?
I didn't study Hebrew literature academically (although I like reading in Hebrew...) but my undergraduate degree in CS is from such an unknown college that I don't see how it differs from your degree in terms of job finding powers.
I also feel that although I might be highly regarded in my current job, it will not transfer easily.
So an MSc in CS from GT for me is some sort of a level up if you will, making my first degree Kosher.
But the real reason I do it is because I feel I need it for the learning, I took some coursera courses here and there, and even finished some, but the fact you pay (although not much) for the courses at GT, makes you more committed.
Bottom line, if you can afford to keep a full time job (or have enough savings to do it full time) then I would say go for it.
It will make a difference in your career options, especially in the "big" names like Google etc...
Having an MS is not a silver bullet, but it definitely won't hurt. There were times perhaps that I heard people say that they would avoid hiring MS CS students with no work experience. But times have hanged, MS in CS is no longer pure theoretical, the programs really make you a better programmer in my very humble opinion. And you have the experience as the basis, the MS CS is just a cherry on top.