Same story. Got a commodore 64 when I was 3. Learned to read by playing computer games on it. (Project Space Station was an extremely wordy game). So I spent my childhood learning on my own. Didn't want 40k of student loan debt, and I was never all that fond of school anyway.

Anyway, after high school (1999), I moved to a bigger city and got a temp job in the accounting department of a company (data entry). Many of the tasks I was given were automatable, so I automated them. A role in Systems Support for the company opened up, and the head of the accounting department recommended me. I worked for that company for over a year before I moved back home, and was lucky to get an IT position at a company here which was helped largely because I had that one job of real industry experience. Fast forward to 2011 and I am now the IT Manager for a small manufacturing company.

In my case, it happened to all work out, and now I have 12 years experience, I am sure things will be fine. A couple things to note though: more and more jobs no longer say 'University Degree or Relevant Experience' and simply that a relevant degree is required. Also, I got paid less than I would have if I had a degree for years. I make a good wage now, and I feel that the lack of student loan debt has more than made up for a few years of below average pay.

I grew up on a farm in a rural area and as far being in the woods, I'm basically never lost. There's signs and tricks you just learn to keep yourself oriented and going in the (generally) right direction. That being said, I've gotten lost in Toronto and Dublin on several occasions. Those being the only larger cities I've ever spent any amount of time in.