Is biochem something you can learn to do professionally without a degree in it?

Hello,

I am a sysadmin in the biotech field. We're hurting for scientific programmers with biochem backgrounds so I was thinking about learning some of it in my free time. I was wondering if it would be possible to learn it, all the basics and everything that I need for modern work, within a decent amount of time (within 5 years). Does anyone think it is possible?!