You are very passionate about this aren't you? I went to graduate school. A Ph.D. program is like being an unpaid intern for six years. (And, yet, in some way

You are very passionate about this aren't you? I went to graduate school. A Ph.D. program is like being an unpaid intern for six years. (And, yet, in some ways it's better. There is some pay. And a Ph.D. is a regular old-fashioned apprenticeship program: The bad news is that you're a slave, but the good news is that your adviser has a fairly strong incentive to help you graduate. The commitment goes both ways. And, of course, if you've got an apartment and a web connection you can teach yourself to be a professional programmer -- especially if you already have a CS degree -- but you can't say the same for semiconductor engineering.)