You keep repeating this, but that doesn't make it true.

Where I've worked and hired people -- in San Francisco and Silicon Valley -- there is little emphasis placed on formal eduction. Virtually none. Some companies have a reputation for liking degrees. Google, for example, but they are an exception.

I don't think a self taught programmer, who takes his craft seriously and learns not just practical how-to but also data structures and algorithms, is at ANY disadvantage in today's job market.