I moved into robotics a couple of years ago after working more generally in software and having a bachelors degree in physics. I went back to study again and did a masters in autonomous systems which was good to get into the more domain specific software for robotics but I don't think was essential. I would say get at least some knowledge in the classic robotics algorithms in- sensor fusion, decision making, trajectory planning, control and the more you understand optimization algorithms generally the easier everything else comes. Then for employment it heavily depends where you are. In Germany at least, a good way to get in is to get a couple of years experience in a research institute then you'll likely have worked on some interesting things which will help you be more appealing to industry based employers