So, I&#x27;ve a PhD in Electrical Engineering from one of the good schools and am doing okay at my job. However, my earning potential doesn&#x27;t seem to be as good as those at Google &#x2F; FB etc.<p>I have some experience in programming and web development. But not a lot.<p>These days I see these grand packages for people working at the big software companies and wonder if I should move to programming as a career choice. I would say I am currently at Senior Engineer to Staff Engineer level at a semiconductor company. I am in the Bay Area.<p>Here are my motivations:<p>1. I seem to like programming tasks in my current job, but that is usually not my primary responsibility. I am good with logical thinking  &#x2F; reasoning etc.<p>2. I think I have at least 25 years of career ahead and making a switch in early 30s to a more lucrative area doesn&#x27;t sound like a bad idea.<p>3. I believe I can come back to my area and get a job, even after doing some programming jobs, as being good in programming is usually seen as an asset.<p>But I wonder if it is really practical to leave a pretty good job, and start as a beginner at software company (possibly at a lower salary) assuming that you will do better in the long term.<p>It would be interesting to see the thoughts of the HN community.
Ask HN: Electrical Eng. PhD, Thinking of Moving to Programming Jobs. Worth It?