> official certifications which employers check

Yet I wangled a job writing software despite a mechanical engineering job achieved without CS courses. I also know several people at Microsoft in programming jobs who had no college experience. There are tens of thousands of employers, all different. You can even start your own business doing programming, EE design, whatever.

> apparently worthless

Not at all. It's maybe a harder road, sure, but it's navigable for those who want to do it for free.