@a mamin: it may be so, but i don’t know. I do know that the job market is ruthlessly competitive, at least in software (which is what I do). If you want to be employed don’t just be capable be extra-ordinary! Because if I’m looking for people thats what I am looking for.
And @cantreq said education, not a degree. While they often are seen as the same thing they are not. And while it does not guarantee you anything it does improve your odds quite a bit. Most jobs these days pay you not for what you do, but for what you know. Mine sure does! Anyone could sit here and stare at this screen 10 hours day, very few people can write code as well as I can. Learning to do this took many years and you can be sure I’m still working on it.