How does MS helps with breaking into specific domains like OS/Compilers/Hardware?

I'm close to complete my Masters and there was basically nothing that'd help with those directly

Generally the whole Masters was mostly wasted time, the only good thing was that there were some people with different backgrounds/domains, so that was cool to see their perspective.

@OP check sylabus and ask graduates about opinions, but remember that you're already experienced, so probably more skilled than average student

It requires that you focus on these subjects with elective courses if they're not a part of your university's mandatory curriculum.

Although that's a little surprising, universities do focus on different things; e.g. some have almost no functional programming, others open it on the first BSc course. Some have one half-assed Machine Learning course with a heavy emphasis on theory, others have a major research groups with lots of particular electives. The same can be said of any domain; cryptography, ML, PLT, algorithms, etc.

You have to get into a Masters (/or PhD) degree with the mindset of learning more about a specific field. If you take random courses, you'll just end up learning about a bunch of stuff which will be obsolete in a few years that you will never use.

Exploration is fun, yes, but a post-graduate degree is not really for exploring your options.

Presumably a Masters (but not PhD) might be suitable as a "booster" for an ailing career, on top of being a career-changer. But I also see OP doesn't seem to doing terrible on their own. I only suggest it as a way to pull yourself out of a dump and have nowhere else to turn for help.

>If you take random courses, you'll just end up learning about a bunch of stuff which will be obsolete in a few years that you will never use.

I have very little impact on the courses in my country.

You absolutely don't need a higher degree than a bachelors to break into specialized fields. For many people it will just be wasted time and money. Simply apply directly to those fields in a company that needs engineers for them. As long as you have a basic working knowledge of computer science you'll get in.

>As long as you have a basic working knowledge of computer science you'll get in.

You'll get in for sure. There is a good chance you'll be getting all the grunt work for a long time. You can, of course, learn in that phase but it can get really tricky to remain motivated when you are not getting to solve interesting problems.

How do you find discipline without structured education? Especially when you lack anyone else to keep you accountable for your work?