> "often finding formal education diabolical"
TBH, as a self-educated developer, I perceive formal education as a premature optimization.
It's a fact that one needs to develop certain skills and gain insight from the knowledge that reflects the experience of expert people, but it's also a fact that one won't need everything the first moment after graduation.
I prefer to research and learn about something the moment I need it, than to be forced to learn it (and probably forget about it) some years in advance.
Anyway... The first skill you need to develop to become self-educated is self-confidence, because nobody is going to believe in you. I have been accused of being an idiot numerous times for dropping college...