I tried to get a job without a degree and it wasn't going well, so I went and got one. Then, it still wasn't going well. But I eventually found a company that

I tried to get a job without a degree and it wasn't going well, so I went and got one. Then, it still wasn't going well. But I eventually found a company that interviewed me, and it came down to me an 1 other person, and on paper, they looked a lot better than me. They gave me a test (brainbench, IIRC) and I absolutely smoked the other guy on every part of it. So in the end, I didn't need a degree. My next job didn't care at all about my degree, just my 5 years of experience and what I knew how to do.