Hey gamedev

I was just reading through Tom Sloper's site and he made quite alot of remarks about people trying to get into the industry without college are just plain lazy and shouldn't bother.

I would love to be a programmer in the game industry, and I would do anything I can to get there.
My problem is that I am 17 and no longer live with my parents (for personal reasons) because I have things to pay for to keep myself off the streets, I don't think I can afford to go to university once I finish High School. It's not that I'm lazy, I would love to go to university. But I'm living off scraps as it is and will most likely not be able to afford it.

How hard will it be for me to get a career in the industry in programming? If I can at all? At the moment I've been learning C++ and using the DirectX API from books and tutorials.

Thanks.

Hey gamedev

I was just reading through Tom Sloper's site and he made quite alot of remarks about people trying to get into the industry without college are just plain lazy and shouldn't bother.

I would love to be a programmer in the game industry, and I would do anything I can to get there.
My problem is that I am 17 and no longer live with my parents (for personal reasons) because I have things to pay for to keep myself off the streets, I don't think I can afford to go to university once I finish High School. It's not that I'm lazy, I would love to go to university. But I'm living off scraps as it is and will most likely not be able to afford it.

How hard will it be for me to get a career in the industry in programming? If I can at all?

Thanks.