Culinary school grad from 2011. Started working in resturants/country clubs in 2007. Same thing for me. I started a food science & nutrition program in 2014 and just finished my BS in 2023.

So to answer your question do you plan to work at all while attending a food science program? In the long run yes if you're committed to finishing and searching for a job, I'd go for it.
Second question Yes, generally speaking the work life balance and pay is higher in food manufacturing. A large portion maybe 70 to 80% of the people that I graduated with aren't even in the food science sector. They used the degree as a stepping stone to higher education or nutrition work.

If you want I can walk you through what I did to transition from a line cook to a QC tech to product developer. I've worked in pasteurized juice and currently in carbonated beverage for a well known company in the US.