Hi /r/IndustrialDesign! Glad to be here!

tl;dr:

I’m thinking of switching from UX (software) to industrial design and wondering how/if I can successfully accomplish that *EDIT to add:* with school being a top consideration. Questions below if you want to skip!

tl version:

I’ve worked in tech in the Bay Area on the software side since I graduated in 2005 (I have an Aerospace Engineering B.S. - I definitely do not want to go back to that). The first few years of my career were focused on product management, where I’ve worked at some notable growth-to-IPO companies and nonprofits, before I made a switch to UX/product design about seven years ago. My first full time design job was at a nonprofit, and over the next 6 years I was able to make it to a notable public tech company before I got laid off early last year.

After taking a month off, I spent the next 10 months trying to find another UX role; I’m not going to get into the details of that since it’s irrelevant at this point, but the market is just not there for me. It’s super competitive and soul crushing, and I often feel like my lack of very high impact projects plus my lack of an academic design background has finally come to work against me. Something has to change.

Also, over the years, I’ve lamented not being able to get my foot in the door on the hardware side of product design, even when I’ve worked at companies that have hardware offerings, and it seems like this might be a good time to pursue that. There are so many parts of commercial design that intrigue me and I dream of designing more tactile things. I hypothesize that my UX background might offer different perspectives on how to build physical objects too.

So, I’m considering a few programs, notably ones at ArtCenter, SFSU, and Academy of Art in SF. RISD is also on my radar, but I’m not sure I want to move east at this stage of my life.

Many have given me the advice of “don’t go back to school, it’s not worth it”, but honestly, I love school, I have savings I can apply to a degree, don’t have a family, and I learn well in an academic structure, not to mention the networking I’d get in that environment. If I’m not going back to school or building my own thing from scratch, I’m not sure what my path into this part of design is.

My questions

• Does it make sense for me to go back to school i.e., is that something that leads to a career, post graduation these days?
• If I’m going to school, do I need to start from scratch or can I go for a Masters?
• Aside from the programs I mention above, are there other ones on the west coast I should consider?
• How is AI impacting this field? On the UX side it’s not directly changing the work itself yet, but I definitely use AI a lot more now at the research stage. I’ve been seeing the beginnings of AI prototyping and wire framing becoming more plausible on the software side too.
• I know logically this last question is probably “no”, but it's a big insecurity for me: is it too late given I’m turning 44, and competing with people half my age? I do feel great for my age, but I've seen tech be very very unkind to individual contributors once they reach 40. If you're not in management, a principal, or building your own thing, there is a very clear ceiling.

Thanks so much in advance for reading my post; I’ve been feeling a bit lost this past year, but hopeful I’ve found a potential path forward.

ADDENDUM: Thanks for the responses so far! To be clear, while it'd be nice to be in a field that is less difficult job-wise, I'm also trying to prioritize working on things that bring me more joy, and software is doing less and less of that for me.

ADDENDUM 2: General summary so far is:

1. The ID job market is much more competitive than UX, with many in the field moving over to more plentifulUX opportunities.
2. With my experience, going back to university will be needed to bridge my skill deficit.

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