I'm more thinking programming/software development. More money in that anyway right?
Eh, as far as money I'd really say it depends.
On the software development/programming side, you may make more money starting out but it may also be harder to get your foot in the door and it's heavily dependent on your ability to learn a language and prove you can code. I'd also say you'd tend to hit that glass ceiling a little sooner than on the network/systems side.
On the systems/networking side, you'll probably have to start out resetting passwords and removing viruses, but there's a lot of room to grow and once you get enough experience you can easily branch out and specialize in a lot of different things (some people specialize in Cisco stuff, some do servers, some go the security route, some do consulting, some get into project management, etc.).
Either way, you could probably land an entry level job but realistically you're going to have to be willing to eat a pay cut to get in. I mean that's just the reality of switching industries and having to start out with an entry-level job. Exact salary would depend on the job and where you live but 50k would be more than I'd expect an entry-level IT job to pay (unless you live somewhere ridiculously expensive like NYC). Even if you went back and got a degree you still might not end up making more off the bat. I think my first IT job out of college only paid 35-40k (granted, it was the recession, but even it it wasn't I doubt I'd have made that much more starting out). Even with an MBA I'm not sure you'd really get a pay increase unless you get some experience in the meantime.