Well, I have had everything from school leavers to PhDs working for me, and I can tell you that a college degree is not necessary to become a good programmer if

Well, I have had everything from school leavers to PhDs working for me, and I can tell you that a college degree is not necessary to become a good programmer if you are adequately mentored by the right person. So my personal answer to your question is yes, that can work. However, it doesn't matter what I think - it matters what everybody else thinks. And the world values the right kind of degree. I had the rather amusing experience recently of being screened out of a job application specifically for lacking a computer science degree. Apparently 15 years of software engineering and management not to mention a degree and research in astrophysics was not a good enough substitute :-) So I personally would recommend to a talented youngster to get a CompSci degree regardless.