u/ActualBag4350

Hey everyone, looking for a reality check on my current situation.

The Situation:
I’m about to start full-time at EY in Tech Risk (IT Audit/ITGCs). Honestly, it’s not what I want to do. I’m a builder at heart and want to be on the "other side"—using programming, data, and math to optimize systems and solve actual operational problems. My ideal target is Supply Chain & Operations (SC&O) Consulting.

I recently got accepted into the Master of Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISyE) program at UMN, which perfectly aligns with what I want to do.

The Dilemma:
I’m stuck trying to balance career alignment with financial anxiety:

• The Pivot Difficulty: I want to switch to supply chain without the degree, but it feels like teams aren't willing to make that jump with me since my resume only shows tech risk.
• The Full-Time Risk: I’d love to quit EY and do the MS full-time to force a clean pivot, but walking away from a steady Big 4 paycheck feels financially terrifying.
• The Part-Time Burnout: I’ve considered doing the MS part-time while working, but I’m scared of EY's unpredictable hours. Trying to balance 50-60 hour weeks with a heavy STEM grad program sounds impossible.

Questions:

1. Has anyone successfully jumped from Tech Risk into Supply Chain or ERP implementation consulting without a master's degree? How did you bypass HR?
2. If you did a rigorous grad program while working Big 4, how did you set boundaries with your teams so you didn't burn out?
3. Should I defer the MS for a year to stack cash at EY, or should I just look for a UMN Graduate Assistantship (TA/RA) to waive tuition and quit EY entirely?

Thanks in advance.