Work after Undergrad, or go for Masters?

Hi all,

I assume this subreddit is populated by many masters and phd students in ML. I am a senior computer science major, and i've been working as an undergraduate researcher for a year using ML. My question for you is, why did you choose to pursue a Masters or PhD in ML?

My dream job involves doing something with ML, or working on difficult computational problems. The last thing I want to do is be a generic application developer for a big company. But unfortunately that is the only job I've been able to find.

I am faced with the following decision, accept a job as a software consultant making 70k salary and hope that I can eventually move to a more interesting job after a few years experience, or I can apply for masters/phd programs in ML and then look for work again when I finish. I would really love to work for Amazon or Facebook or another big company that does a lot of ML work. Would it be easier to get there with a Masters or with 2-3 years experience doing software consulting?

I am sure some of you have been in my situation before, what did you do? Are you happy with your choices?

Thanks