> With almost anything else you need all of the above plus a college or other formal education.

I did misread this. Still I'm not sure this is true. Is it really the case that only in computers you're not required to have formal education to get a well placed job? That seems unlikely. I don't feel that I have enough information either way from my own experience (in computers, without a formal education in it and knowing many others lacking formal education) but it seems like an exceptional claim that there is only one field that works this way. Construction is the first other than comes to mind. It's also funny because this is one of the things we get criticized most about, the lack of professional qualification while using potentially very dangerous tools.

That is why I said 'almost', not 'only'. I'm not personally aware of anything else like this other than starting your own business. And starting a successful business is far harder than teaching yourself programming.

Computers are not dangerous of themselves, they are dangerous when you rely on them. When you screw up software it's really easy to hit the reset button at no cost. When you screw up fixing a device, it might cost you money.

Also in construction you usually need some sort of formal education for the better paying jobs. Plumbers, electricians and so on have certifications, licenses apprenticeship programs.

I've been working on software systems for a couple decades where you can't just hit the reset button because they matter so I'm not particularly incline to agree on that point. The vocational school system still exists for the trades I believe though you hardly hear about it now that for profits have taken over the "non-classical" education spaces.