Advice on which direction to take?

I’m currently an L4 at Amazon in NoVa (non-AWS) and I’ve been seriously thinking about moving into the data center space. I’m weighing two paths forward:

The first is going back to school at Virginia Tech for a second degree in Electrical Engineering. I genuinely enjoy the subject and have a strong interest in math, so it feels like a natural fit. The second option came up after I reached out to an AWS DCO manager in another state. We had a coffee chat and they were open to interviewing me, though the role would mean stepping down to L3. I’m okay with that if it gets my foot in the door.

Assuming both options are actually on the table, I’m genuinely torn. The EE degree feels like it would open more doors long term, especially if I want to eventually move into the DC or even the space industry. But on the other hand, skipping three to four years of school to jump straight into a DCT role means I could spend that same time gaining real experience and climbing the ladder instead.

So yeah, not sure which way to go.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​