As Yogi said "If you don't know where you're going, you might not get there". I bring this up only by way of asking what your goals are other than "climbing the corporate ladder"? What are your interstes either in programming or outside of it that you would find satisfying to work on? Or ones that you could get passionate about as you did in 1996? It's those interests and passions that will get you where you want to go. If you really want something and you're good at it and you know where you want to go with it, those things will speak louder than degrees when the chips are down.