As an employer, of a tech team of nearly 20 who's actually hiring now as well I would very much like to agree with AmiMojo.
The single biggest contributor to whether we will hire someone or not is whether we are convinced that they are actually really good.
Qualifications and degrees to NOT say that. Having a shiny last job does not say that.
What says it is two things;
- code we can see that is good, whether from our aptitude test or code that you wrote and can show us (legally, without breaking NDAs)
- an obvious love for the subject, enough to do it in your spare time at home (not work, just tech things)
Personally I don't care whether a candidate has a degree or not. I care that they know what they are talking about, have good problem-solving skills, can communicate to some degree, and that they have a can-do attitude.
I don't know what unemployment is like in my region (Hampshire), but I do know there's lots of candidates...just most aren't particularly good.