Dude, go to college! You should definitely take some online freelance work and submit to topcoder and all that. However, if you have a passion for this area and

Dude, go to college! You should definitely take some online freelance work and submit to topcoder and all that. However, if you have a passion for this area and intend to spend a career in it, just bite the bullet and get a highly theoretical, mathematical education to understand the fundamental truths about information processing and computer architecture that underly every programming project. I don't have much advice about where to go, other than the best place you can afford!