There are always exceptions, none of these are hard-and-fast rules. > As a self-taught IT worker my lifetime earning have far exceeded all of my University-deg

There are always exceptions, none of these are hard-and-fast rules. > As a self-taught IT worker my lifetime earning have far exceeded all of my University-degreed peers (some Ivy!) What were their degrees in? Did any of them go to private liberal arts colleges? Those are more important facts when assessing their careers than the mere fact they went to college, especially when comparing with someone like yourself, who seems to have had good timing jumping into a new-ish, growing industry.