I was a software engineer once... before sliding down the slippery slope into management and business
It certainly helps with understanding image processing algorithms. I have also started playing with PixInsight scripting and hope to build some useful tools there.
My employer develops small devices for out-of-band management, so I have easy access to intelligent Ethernet/WiFi/3G/serial/USB widgets. This will come in handy if I ever get the opportunity to set up a remote observatory.
Cheers,
Rick.