There are a lot of reasons, which I have been discussing on and off throughout my time on LW, and would take a while to compile and articulate. But on the matter of whether this is a "grass is greener" bias: I've been in aerospace engineering for almost seven years now, and the high point of any day for me is programming, on or off the job. I have very extensively seen the grass both on this side of the fence and the other, and I definitely do not want to be doing this for another ten years, even counting the status uplift I seem to get on telling people that I'm in aerospace engineering.

Furthermore, what matters to me is the actual wage [1] I can get, not the relative theoretical amount that I'm being "underpaid". There is a huge chasm, at least with regard to where I am right now, between what I could theoretically get (assuming lots of connections and specific experience I don't have), and what I actually would get, given my present situation.

So I do think it's worthwhile to compile my numerous specific reasons in a comment, but I don't think the concerns you have raised justify any fundamental reconsideration of this transition that would take priority over preparation for the program -- though if I get some free time, I will do as you have suggested.

[1] please, no complaints about the distinction between "salary" and "income" and "wage" and "freelance income" ... I'm using "wage" in the economic sense, of payment for labor, irrespective of what form it takes.