Career advice, go back to school? (applying, application, applications, degree)

[kyle999888]

Hello everyone. Thanks in advance for anyone sharing his/her opinions.

I am currently an engineer at a big company but I dislike my job very much because I feel the skills I learn are not transferable and the manager I work with has no management skills at all and I don't see any potential of him.

I have a phd in this field but over the years both in graduate school and industry, my interest has completely changed. I was thinking about pursuing master in statistics and has already sent out applications. My spouse works at a different state and we have been flying between two cities every other weeks. Another reason for me to switch career is that my phd field is so narrow and it is so difficult to land on a job in the city where he lives so I was trying to break into another area that offers more flexibility.

My original plan was to quit my job in April and move to his state and start taking courses in the school near him. Hopefully I can finish the degree within 1 and 1.5 years.

When I consulted with my colleague in that field ( she has the master degree I am applying to), she said the supply of applications with statistics master exceeds the needs. I am just not sure if it is a wise to make this move by quitting my current position.

My other option:

Keep working at this location and pursue the master degree from another school online. At the same time, I will apply transfer to my spouse state( my company headquarter is there)
Pro: I can keep my work without any gap on my resume. I have income. Internal transfer is relatively easier.
Con: There are so many uncertainties ahead and I have no idea when the long distance will end. It will take longer to finish a master degree. The work I am performing might not be related with the eventual career I want to pursue. I feel I don't want to stay here anymore and everything has been set up for me to move out of my apartment and move to my spouse's state. There will be a lot of hassle to change.

I want to calm down and listen to the opinions from more perspectives.

Thanks for reading!

Best!

[Arthur Digby Sellers]

What do you want to do with the stats degree? There is a lot of demand for quant-side folks in market research.

[kyle999888]

I am thinking about data science in healthcare and biotech. That is the area I am currently working in and would like to stretch my career to be more data driven.

Some people recommend coursera courses but I feel it is hard to break into this career path with just some courses and certificate.

Originally Posted by Arthur Digby Sellers

What do you want to do with the stats degree? There is a lot of demand for quant-side folks in market research.