I think an MS is the way to go. You may even meet a cofounder in the program and drop out. Just getting books is not going to give you the same experience and education level as a year or more on a campus with labs, peers, and mentorship.
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I'm not sure about this. I've been through something like that during the PhD, when I had to do some advanced stuff in Mechanics (finite element analysis), without the proper background. It worked and I learned a lot, but it is different from following the proper undergraduate courses.
My problem with graduate studies is that your mentor always has an agenda (a paper, a prototype, etc) which may compromise his advice (e.g. skipping really important courses/books to save time). Therefore, I'd much rather focus on technical/undergraduate courses, if following any at all.
From what I've heard, the MS programs tend to be much more oriented towards learning what you need to learn and getting out in 2 years. I don't speak from personal experience, though, so I'd suggest you talk to folks who've done it. I'd be happy to put you in touch with some if you'd like. My email's in my profile.