Hey Everyone. I am from India. I don't know where else to ask this question. I hope someone will be able to give me some advice or a new perspective. I am very stressed due to this and demotivated. The imposter syndrome is killing me.

I didn't go to college for a degree due to the lack of family support, guidance, and most importantly lack of money. Luck by chance I stumbled upon Web Development. I needed money for supporting myself, so I started working. I have been working in the web industry for the past 7+ years. First 3 years as a web designer and for the last 4 years as a Full-stack Dev. I work confidently in HTML, CSS, Vanilla JS, Express, Laravel, WordPress, Shopify, Vue, React, AWS, MYSQL, MongoDB, Python Automation. I also have a decent knowledge of creating a UI from scratch in Figma or Adobe Design XD. During this time I also did a Bachelor's Degree in English from Distance Mode.

I work for medium size company and I want to switch to an MNC for a better future. When these MNCs see my profile they are really impressed by the amount of work I have done and my skillset but I get rejected due to the lack of a Regular College Degree.

I am 32 already. Does it make sense to go for a regular Graduation Degree to try to get a job at an MNC? I was thinking about Bsc IT or BCA. I thought about going back to college so late (As mentioned already 32) because now I have enough money to pursue it. I was completely broke during my teen years, had no idea that you can also get college loans, no guidance, and poor parents with 3 kids. But the thing is I have also seen that MNCs don't allow such a long gap between 12th Standard Boards and Graduation. They just allow 1 year of Gap between finishing high school and starting College.

Frankly, I don't see a point in going back to college to just collect a degree. It's just that most places have a requirement of a regular degree. It will just be a waste of time and money which I can dedicate to learning about new technologies and improving myself. In the past, I have even taught programming to Btech Computer Science Grads. I have solved logical problems faced by colleagues in their projects. They all had CS Degree. I know in most colleges they don't give any practical knowledge. It is just that this piece of paper is so important to some employers than the actual skills in India.

Should I go for a regular degree for 3 - 4 years or just put in more effort to improve my skillset? Please share your thoughts. What are your views regarding my situation?

Thanks in Advance