I am in a quite unusual family situation. For the next two years, I have to stay at home where the only post-secondary institution available is a community college. After two years, I will have to start earning a living. I do not really have any real-world programming experience to put on my résumé. I did some not-too-advanced work in PHP for family and friends, and I’m pretty sure that I want to program for a living.

I have been working on an A.S. Degree in Computer Programming and Analysis since fall. My question regarding the degree is: is it worth anything to potential employers or am I just wasting my time? Is there a better way to spend the oncoming two years? If I could get an internship and some experience, would that hold more weight than a two-year degree without experience?