Damon Horowitz, Google's "in-house philosopher," describes his transition from philosophy student to computer programmer and his return to obtain a PhD:
I realized that the questions I was asking were philosophical questions—about the nature of thought, the structure of language, the grounds of meaning. So if I really hoped to make major progress in AI, the best place to do this wouldn't be another AI lab. If I really wanted to build a better thinker, I should go study philosophy.
The Dish 