Thanks for input. Some followup questions if you have any thoughts:

I graduated in 2009 with BS in CS. Worked as software engineer for a bunch of different types of companies. Due to variety of things that pop up I'm currently in an auxilliary engineering role (non core engineering title) at a big 4. However, also for a variety of reasons I've recently gotten the opportunity to work on a bunch of deep learning projects. I am participating in ML reading groups, helping teach classes, and working on some projects, though the projects probably won't end up in serious production usage unless I do a kickass job (will try to).

I actually think the ML stuff is pretty fun though admittedly it's been a tough learning curve. But I am worried that not only will a BS be held against me long-term, but that coupled with my title (which has already carried a stigma at times) will really stifle my long-term options. For now I am just trying to focus and do cool projects, but considering whether I should go back to something else for the long-term or go to grad school. But since I've been in the field for a while my compensation isn't bad and so going back to grad school is really tough, especially in Bay Area (don't want to leave since wife is here and in the industry too). Plus, I am just slightly skeptical that a grad school environment would be better than paying attention to all the work being done in the company I'm currently in (which has world class ML people to network with).

Any thoughts?