[John Rogers]

When I retired from the Navy in 1985 I had this same decision and since I planed to live in CA I found by job searches, even back then a bachelors was good, a masters was way better and a masters with a cert or two like Oracle DBA, Senior DBA, etc was great! I also found with a masters degree you can teach at most colleges, generally evening classes and days depending on which school it is.

So I got my BSCS and masters in software engineering, a CA teaching credential and worked as a Senior Oracle DBA until I retired in 2009. I did have one stint as a manager for COMNAVAIRPAC during Desert Storm but I do not work well as a civilian manager! So I started teaching in 1989 and do one or two classes a week which gets me out of the house and supported racing my 914-6 for many years! Since I sold it due to health reasons, the money helps buy that black powder my muzzle loaders seem to suck right up!

So it is up to you but a degree and and advanced degrees make you an engineer and not a technical person.