Yep. I did that for computer vision. I was really interested in it and decided to take time off work to study (and get better at prerequisites - linear algebra,

Yep. I did that for computer vision. I was really interested in it and decided to take time off work to study (and get better at prerequisites - linear algebra, multivariable calculus etc.). After roughly six months of study, I got an offer for a remote job at a startup to be a computer vision researcher (granted, I also had Msc in machine learning/AI and some previous ML experience on my resume). I didn't end up taking it, as it was for half of what I was making as a regular software dev. Now, I'm back to my old job and just saving money to retire early and not have to worry about money and jobs any more. To me, the theory and math side of computer vision research are super interesting - but the actual practice, i.e. implementing the models, seeing what works well, chasing bugs, library defects etc. is similarly tedious and tiring as the regular software job. The research job has the benefit of not having to work within a team (which, under scrum, I mostly hate), but it's not worth 50% pay cut to me. I suspect that may be the case for many "interesting" jobs - they pay less and also become way less interesting when you start doing them 40h/week.