Hi RUG3Y. From my experience, there are a ton of jobs for the skill-set I have mentioned above in my article. There will be more jobs in metropolitan areas than rural, but you can also find remote friendly workplaces. I've mentioned some places to check out in the article.

As for CS degree I don't have one so you will have to speak with someone that does. In my opinion there is no better learning than when you are employed and working in teams so I prefer that method for practicality purposes.