he is probably beating the bush
There is some truth to it though, companies are inclined towards hiring guys with formal degrees. That's again for entry level jobs.. once you are out of that, being there in real world, faced real world problems (no ideal resistors, inductors or capacitors), current knowledge, practical experience weighs more than your formal degrees.
But again his post is quite informal, that's the nature of this guy, can't blame anyone. I am pretty sure, he won't find it difficult to get a good job if he makes a genuine effort, reaching out to his contact and viewers.
Being philosophical - help comes to someone who helps themselves. If one says
after 46 years he never had a formal education
, so he can't get a job - it will be very difficult for even companies to offer him a job. Rather he should project his accomplishments - knowledge, research papers, books, projects, links to git hub, youtube etc