> credentials and degrees are horrendously irrelevant in predicting your skills as an engineer

I'd suggest that an MSEE or MSCS degree from a good school tends to be pretty good training for working in the industry. The projects you complete are usually challenging, relevant, and intentionally educational.

For example, an MSEE might learn how design analog amplifiers and filters, program a DSP, lay out VLSI circuits for an ASIC, implement a RISC CPU in verilog, implement an internet router on an FPGA, and implement Wi-Fi on a software radio. I'd be happy to hire (or work with) someone who can do all that!