The old experience vs education debate
This one has been done to death on TR pretty much, but my experience is that education is more important than you suggest. As stated in the original article, university education (college, if you must) teaches you a way of thinking about problems that you cannot get solely through experience.
I write from the point of view of someone who hires consultants and technicians for an IT services provider, rather than someone who pays for the services of a consultant and in the past, I have hired based on qualifications only, experience only and qualifications and experience. The guys with the qualifications almost invariably work out better (industry certs don't count). In fact, if it came down to a choice between someone with plenty of experience, but no quals and someone with a degree, but a bit less experience, I would most likely go with the guy with the degree.
That is not to say that experience is not important - it clearly is. It is just not the be-all and end-all.
