How long is a masters going to take? Three years? What's the ML landscape going to look like in three years?
I don't know the answer. In three years, ML could have pretty much maxed out, and people could be not hiring for it any more. Or in three years a masters in ML could be the golden ticket. I don't know. I don't think anyone else knows, either.
My impression is that "these cutting edge tech companies" are not easily able to find as many qualified candidates as they want right now. Emphasis on "right now". Is there something you can do to become qualified (by their definition) that will be faster than a masters?
(I'm pretty sure that their definition of "qualified" has to be less than a masters - there hasn't been enough time for there to be very many ML masters degrees yet.)