In fairness it depends on where you want to go. If you want to work for a big company like IBM, Microsoft, etc... you probably need a degree (though sometimes these companies skirt their own rules by hiring contractors)

But as far as other IT companies I don't think it's necessary.

Honestly I have a degree and if I were looking for a job right now I'd use a degree requirement to determine where not to apply. Because that, to me, says that the company is run by "managers" who don't understand the first thing about programming.

John Carmack's a dropout for God's sakes. That alone disproves just about every "devil's advocate" argument given in the article