You aren't! I'm a state-school bachelor's-only don't-even-have-a-CS-degree person; neither of my parents have a 4-year-degree. I had a FAANG job, left it for a better one, own a house in 2/5 of the most expensive cities of the world, etc., etc.
Elitist assholes definitely exist everywhere, but in my experience a lot of what I viewed as "showing off" when I was younger was really just "being normal" for a different "normal". When a 25-year-old software developer talks all the time about Stanford and Lambos, he's not trying to show off, he's just talking about what he knows, just like the guy talking about tail-gating at <insert SEC school here> and then going four-wheeling all the time.
I don't want to devalue experience and education in any way; those things have value! But time is linear and the past has happened -- you just have to move forward with what you have and go after what you want, and don't get distracted by the fact that others started out with a lot more than you. I double-pinky-promise you that if you are good at something, keep getting better at it, and aren't an asshole yourself, you can work at any company you want. :-)
Elitist assholes definitely exist everywhere, but in my experience a lot of what I viewed as "showing off" when I was younger was really just "being normal" for a different "normal". When a 25-year-old software developer talks all the time about Stanford and Lambos, he's not trying to show off, he's just talking about what he knows, just like the guy talking about tail-gating at <insert SEC school here> and then going four-wheeling all the time.
I don't want to devalue experience and education in any way; those things have value! But time is linear and the past has happened -- you just have to move forward with what you have and go after what you want, and don't get distracted by the fact that others started out with a lot more than you. I double-pinky-promise you that if you are good at something, keep getting better at it, and aren't an asshole yourself, you can work at any company you want. :-)