Why not? Forty-five percent of survey respondents said on-the-job experience is more valuable than additional schooling, and 24 percent said advanced education just costs too much.

Their lack of interest in advanced degrees may also be linked to the rising interest in software boot camps, according to a survey of 700 software developers Hired conducted earlier this year. Some 76 percent of boot camp grads think the experience prepared them for their current engineering jobs, and 57 percent of technical hiring managers would hire software developers educated through boot camps, that survey found.