Do your own DIY Ph.D. then make a startup with your research results. That's what I've been doing. I'm not sure I could pass a dissertation but I'm never lackin

Do your own DIY Ph.D. then make a startup with your research results. That's what I've been doing. I'm not sure I could pass a dissertation but I'm never lacking in difficulty on my side projects, and I get a pretty penny to boot. Big N doesn't need anymore research-level software engineers (they're already paying all of those that exist a million dollars a year in compensation), they need code grunts from elite universities to be digital plumbers. Sorry to burst your pipes.