> and without one you will have incredible obstacles to overcome.
Not very true in my experience. Just last year my friend landed a job in Samsung without even BSc and he's now flying to Korea on a monthly basis. Last month he got an offer from Fujitsu. And the funniest part: he's a self-taught JavaScript programmer. This is not a proof, just an anecdote - but one not entirely uncommon in our industry.
Sure, there are useful things you'd learn in a university, but you can also learn them by yourself. I did. It's so much cheaper that way and just as effective. It's completely irrelevant where does your knowledge and skill come from as long as you have them and can prove it.
During the last decade of my professional software development work there were perhaps two times where not having "a passport" was a bit of a problem. But never a deal breaker, much less "incredible obstacles".
Nowadays it's easier than ever, with online courses everywhere, some free and others infinitely cheaper than university fees. My advice is pretty generic here: have a github account with lots of fun stuff, have a blog documenting interesting projects you do (even failures), answer SO questions, go to conferences, build a decent portfolio and so on.