I'm in my 4th week of my first class. I'm 54. I have a CS undergrad from 1996. I too caught the ML bug and...this first class is kicking my butt but I'm LOVING the experience. Quality education, very inexpensive, and I can quit any time. I'm doing it for the love of learning and don't need to do it. It takes $100 to apply. Just go for it and try a class. I will warn you without a tech background this particular program will be tough I think. I'm struggling catching up w/ Math

Congratulations on getting back into it! What style of class or course of study did you choose? $100 seems like an accessible price point.

This looks like a winner to me as well. Personally I find university courses to be motivating, and unlike other programs this doesn't seem to be designed to rip you off or put you in debt. You learn the same good material as on-campus students, and you get an MS out of it from a good engineering school. The credential is meaningful because it requires completion of courses that are difficult but also designed to teach you the material.

If you have no engineering background, I expect you'd need to spend time doing prerequisite/undergrad courses beforehand.

The down side is that: it takes time and money, and nobody will give you a raise because you have an MSCS (though maybe it could help with changing jobs). But the actual knowledge and skills are useful if you can put them to use, and you may also find the courses to be satisfying in themselves.

The entire OMSCS program costs about $6000-$7000, depending on if you take one or two classes per semester.

That's not free, but it is an undeniably great value for the money.

At my workplace, its a hard requirement for advancement to get a MS/PhD. Comes with an automatic raise too.

Can attest to the program being worth it!