our business unit came under new management after I had been there for four years and new management had different priorities. a lack of degree hadn't been a problem before, and it hasn't been a problem since. my lesson from that though was that some people are stuck up about degrees and you can't accurately predict when you will need to work with one of them, even if just for a little while.

there are a lot of employers in my geographic area (not west coast) that have a strong preference for degree credentialed individuals, I've been declined at the last minute after technical interviewers gave the thumbs-up because I didn't have a degree. it's pretty frustrating and ideally I'd like to never be in that position again...