godwine, I will PM you if anything comes my way.
I must say this, that the IT industry is a bit more forgiving when it comes to not having a degree. From what I've seen throughout my years is that experience is king in the IT field. I think this is because many positions need someone to hit the ground running. They don't want to waste the time or money to train someone even if they do have a degree.
I really relate to
odonata's situation. I was into computers very early on in life because of my father. From building them from scratch to programming. At 16 I was working as a web designer for a company. Because of the experience I gathered I haven't had any issues with finding a job while competing with degree holders. (I wasn't a complete nerd I did play football in school
) Along the way I still had to study for certifications. In life you never stop learning.
But most people don't have that situation which is why it's best to get some sort of schooling. Yeah, you could go to japan without a degree but you need 10 years experience in a field. 10 years is a long time to wait. It would make a lot more sense to go to school for 4 years, study Japanese while you're there and then hop over.
You may not believe it now but school is WAAAAY more fun then work.