That's weird, I was told I'm graduating from the leading university in Australia and we don't do 15 person final year projects ;) We also MUST use and understan

That's weird, I was told I'm graduating from the leading university in Australia and we don't do 15 person final year projects ;) We also MUST use and understand version control so "leading" might be closer to truth (branching/exploring existing code bases, submitting assignments as constant SVN commits over the time allocated). But there are so many technologies that are neglected that both have a great theoretical base and practical application; like test driven development/design by contract. It is difficult for faculty to always be on top of the latest and greatest because of the rapid pace of change, but that's no reason to give up completely. So in short; YMMV re: "leading". It is an unfortunate fact that incompetent (in the most literal sense) and undedicated people are hired, let alone as engineers. If you've done the field work component of the Software Engineering degree, you should have experienced this. As a pre-graduate, I have been more knowledgeable about the technologies and more committed to the project than some bad apples amongst the vastly higher paid career staff. At the same time, I would say that a HN reader should know that being enthusiastic about something where others aren't isn't a waste of time. There are those just as dedicated as you out there and they will appreciate your thirst for knowledge, no matter what degree you have. If you have taken the time to really understand the core courses (statistical analysis/mathematics, engineering practice, software design, computer science), not just pass their assessment, you'll have gained valuable skills for approaching any task - software or otherwise.