I know the common narrative is that a Master’s in CS really isn’t worth it
Having interviewed a bunch of job candidates with CS Masters and CS Bachelors for jobs in a fairly small, research-y group, and a shmear of PhDs, level of education absolutely matters. The more education, the more prepared people are to think well on their feet. The average high school dropout can think. Thinking well requires training. Generally, CS Masters hits a sweet spot: they can hit the ground running and mold themselves into a job. They may need a bit more guidance to understand the space around the problem. The PhDs have often self-selected into the job and have a good grip on the problem but take a bit more guidance on what to not do. The bachelors folks need strong leadership and team around them. While you may get that in larger orgs, if it's a smaller org, that may not be reliably available at all times.
considering is learning HVAC repair as a fallback career.
Having had HVAC guys install and repair A/C systems at various homes, I think you would quickly find the baseline work mind-numbing. That said, if you make it through the apprenticeship, you might be in a good position to build a startup.
From experience, people with CS Master's are able to navigate uncertainty better than bachelors folks, show more initiative and are better at accumulating information, though I do note that I may be biased.
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Having interviewed a bunch of job candidates with CS Masters and CS Bachelors for jobs in a fairly small, research-y group, and a shmear of PhDs, level of education absolutely matters. The more education, the more prepared people are to think well on their feet. The average high school dropout can think. Thinking well requires training. Generally, CS Masters hits a sweet spot: they can hit the ground running and mold themselves into a job. They may need a bit more guidance to understand the space around the problem. The PhDs have often self-selected into the job and have a good grip on the problem but take a bit more guidance on what to not do. The bachelors folks need strong leadership and team around them. While you may get that in larger orgs, if it's a smaller org, that may not be reliably available at all times.
Having had HVAC guys install and repair A/C systems at various homes, I think you would quickly find the baseline work mind-numbing. That said, if you make it through the apprenticeship, you might be in a good position to build a startup.
From experience, people with CS Master's are able to navigate uncertainty better than bachelors folks, show more initiative and are better at accumulating information, though I do note that I may be biased.