Well I'll admit I got a football scholarship, but I also knew how to play.

PO3 Bob McCord I disagree! I have no piece of paper and work alongside people with their masters and my salary is on par with theirs. It takes hard work, time, sacrifices and experience to get where I am as a software developer and I've turned down head-hunter/recruiters offering six figure salaries.

A piece of paper gets you in the door quicker, that's all it does. I know phd engineers that couldn't cut their way out of a paper bag, but they know their books like the back of their hand. Sometimes, applying theoretical knowledge to real world situations while coding leads to bloat-ware that easily bricks end-user applications because it's made too complicated with too many points of failure.