There is a good reason why Degrees are expensive and everyone wants one, otherwise whats the point! I've been in IT since the early 80's and I struggled for years tryng to get a goog paying job without a degree. It doesn't matter what you know, for most businesses they have to sift through hundreds of applications, and they start by looking at your qualifiactions first and throw the rest away. Once I got my BA in IT I landed a good IT job a month after graduation, proof is in the pudding! Get a degree or suffer the same fate as everyone else at the bottom!