Maybe I'll be down voted for speaking against the grain, but one of the benefits of someone who has the degree is that you know they have some minimal grasp of

Maybe I'll be down voted for speaking against the grain, but one of the benefits of someone who has the degree is that you know they have some minimal grasp of the basics (yes, there are exceptions) which make adapting to changes in the tech stack or industry practices less painful. One of the obstacles with he thing hired out of the coding schools is that employers don't know even if you're "current" that you aren'the just equipped for their ephemeral needs.