I haven't yet personally encountered self-taught folks who ascend to the niche of enterprise Java and excel at it. I'm sure it's possible, but I suspect it's a

I haven't yet personally encountered self-taught folks who ascend to the niche of enterprise Java and excel at it. I'm sure it's possible, but I suspect it's a difficult path. Java is manageable compared to C++, but a big nasty beast compared to Python, Ruby, Go, etc. I think even in a down economy, a CS education is a good investment of your time. These days you can even do it online, and getting grounded in the fundamentals is a superpower when properly leveraged.