| I understand your frustration. I too graduated from such a private college with a CS degree in 2003. Here is why I think you should complete your degree: - You are being forced to study the core areas in CS. You will probably soon specialize in your work/research, so learn the core areas when you still have the time. - Unless you have already created exceptional products, regular employers will not consider you unless you have a degree; these employers are a good fallback if nothing else works. The degree is a baseline to avoid being filtered out. - If you want to go to graduate school to do research, either now or in the future, an undergraduate degree is essential. - Getting a B.Tech isn't hard. Put in the minimum effort if you want, but it isn't tough to pass, nor is it a time sink. Yes, the teaching can be unimaginative, professors may strictly adhere to a syllabus, and the exams test rote memorization, but one can still be stimulated in this environment. I would unceasingly ask questions to fully understand algorithms being taught in class, often challenging professors (and finding holes in the thought process). The database class helped me understand normalization and other ideas of good DB design (and their rationale), which I used for my web projects. A queuing theory class helped me understand performance of a system I later built. There is no doubt you need to go beyond just getting the degree. Do you have fantastic ideas for products? Maybe a bit of freelancing will help? I created websites for clients abroad while doing my undergrad (just get a low bandwidth internet connection from a mobile company for this). I interned with companies/organizations during the summer. For my final year project I wrote a simd+cluster version of a program that I ran on all the computers in the department's lab (and tripped the ups!). I also realized the importance of a degree and tried to stay close to the top of my graduating class. The challenge is to stay motivated to get the degree, while also finding an outlet for your passion. Both can be done. Freelance during the semester working nights and weekends; work with a company during the summer; participate in CS competitions in your region; find a local conference in an area of interest and publish a paper (this isn't hard!). It's really up to you to get motivated and rise above the rest. While I sometimes wish I had done my undergrad elsewhere, I was eventually able to work in an area of my interest. I went to graduate school abroad and am now working in a research department in industry doing what I love. |