I worked for a few years and then went back to a Ph.D. program.
It's now possible to do an M.S. while you're working. There are now a number of good online programs, with Georgia Tech's OMSCS at the top of the pile. You might want to take a year or so in your current position and then evaluate whether an M.S. would be a career enhancer. The culture of Master's programs nationally is shifting towards working professionals doing their degrees online, so the case for quitting your job to go back to a full-time residential program is going to get weaker and weaker in the coming years.
Ph.D. is a totally different game and a bigger conversation. Short answer: unless you really, really want to work in academia it's not going to be worth the opportunity cost.
It's now possible to do an M.S. while you're working. There are now a number of good online programs, with Georgia Tech's OMSCS at the top of the pile. You might want to take a year or so in your current position and then evaluate whether an M.S. would be a career enhancer. The culture of Master's programs nationally is shifting towards working professionals doing their degrees online, so the case for quitting your job to go back to a full-time residential program is going to get weaker and weaker in the coming years.
Ph.D. is a totally different game and a bigger conversation. Short answer: unless you really, really want to work in academia it's not going to be worth the opportunity cost.