+1 for building stuff. As a fellow autodidact, I cannot stress enough the importance of proving that you can actually build maintainable software. To put this

+1 for building stuff. As a fellow autodidact, I cannot stress enough the importance of proving that you can actually build maintainable software. To put this in perspective: typically, a degree is seen as proof of some basic level of knowledge. XYZ University wouldn't have signed this piece of paper unless you had demonstrated the ability to pick up and apply (at least some of) the programming/CS concepts required to be effective in a professional development environment. As a self-taught developer, until you build something, you lack this proof. Once you ship some code, though, you have concrete evidence that you can point to and say "See? I know what I'm talking about!". By the way, the big secret is that this is actually much more powerful than a degree; take advantage of it! If you can show employers that you can actually write good code, you'll have a huge leg up over the guys and girls that think they can just rest on their shiny CS degree (at most companies worth working at, that is). Hacking on open source projects is great as well, because it demonstrates the ability to work well with others - something I found a lot of concern about during my latest job search.