I've been programming as a career for a long time and gone up against candidates with degrees and been hired where they haven't so there are a fair few companie

I've been programming as a career for a long time and gone up against candidates with degrees and been hired where they haven't so there are a fair few companies out there that don't care. That said I'd like to do something academic and I'm getting older and given the ageism in tech a degree/masters might tip the balance. Mostly though I just like learning and if I'm going to do it anyway I might as well look to see if I can get more than just gratification out of it.