When you thought the university was a load of crap, that no one gave a shit about you, that textbooks were meant for professors to profit, and that professors d

When you thought the university was a load of crap, that no one gave a shit about you, that textbooks were meant for professors to profit, and that professors don't care about teaching you, you were right. It was not "youth angst" or "academic immaturity". It was just a correct assessment of the situation. Most people who think you should go back to school do not actually dispute that, they just think that putting up with bullshit like that is somehow character building, that "paying your dues" pays off, and that it is worthwhile to prove to large commercial corporations that you can be manipulated by the large academic corporations. They might be right, but if you love programming, you should program. You have to pay the bills too, of course, so you have to figure out how you can do both. Maybe work on a small project you can try to sell while searching for a job, or start doing contract / consulting jobs on the side ? It depends on the details of your situation.