Phew, this is a long one! I'll try to break this down by q: - Is a degree necessary at all, or should I just stick with Coursera courses? I think given the constraints with your life right now, sticking with the online options gives you the flexibility to make progress. Trying to reorganize and reprioritize your life around a 4 year degree on campus is out of the question. - Would jumping into an MS in CS with an unrelated degree make sense? That might be tough if you don't already have the foundational knowledge. In that case, the The Align MSCS program at NE would be an AWESOME alternative. I don't know much about it but from reading the about page, it has a solid mix of bridge classes, formal classwork, and potentially real-world experience via the internship. Besides a formal degree that could take 3 years to complete, you also have 6m-1y long bootcamps that could suffice. General Assembly, Thinkful, etc. has a track record of success and having the alumni network could be huge when it comes to finding referrals, contacts, and references.

Thank you for your time, I appreciate the length of your response! It's good to hear you think the NE program is a good one. It's one that's been on my radar for quite some time, so if in the future I decide I'd really enjoy the academic experience I'll make sure to revisit them.

I think you're right about sticking with online options. Coursera has been really useful, and I have found other resources with reading recommendations (teachyourselfcs.com) that have been helpful. I think I'm mostly apprehensive because of my completely unrelated art degree, but being encouraged to keep pursuing online courses from you as well as others has been really validating.

Again, thank you for your time!