Has anyone managed to embark on IT career without any relevant work experience or qualification? If, can you share how you do it?

I had an army friend who gratuated with architect degree but realized he didn't wanna be an architect. So he went for a 9 months software course and he's now a software engineer in circles life. Pretty neat if you think about it.

This is not difficult because many activities, industries now use technology. Depending on your situation. Easiest way is to based on your "business domain knowledge & experience", pick up some tech training and then volunteer to participate in IT projects. Then get involved, learn as much as you can swiftly, get your hands dirty... Focusing on your strength, you will be easily create demand for your "services".