I was raised in a family where not getting a higher education was doom. I felt like a failure for not completing it. I turned my self-taught skills into a software engineering position at one of the big dogs. I had terrible imposter syndrome for the first six months. But later on, fuck that.
Fun fact: I don’t have a high school diploma either because credits weren’t going to transfer between schools and I’d have to graduate late. Got a GED and started uni classes while my friends were in their senior year.
The other fun thing that needs to change about job requirements: five years experience for an entry-level position. How the fuck do you expect anyone to break into an industry?