The analogy I use is degree is to career what weight is to fitness. It's an indicator, and moving towards it helps your goals, but it's at best an imperfect ma

The analogy I use is degree is to career what weight is to fitness. It's an indicator, and moving towards it helps your goals, but it's at best an imperfect marker and shouldn't be mistaken for the goal. People who have degrees find it easier to get jobs than people who don't. But... The #1 person I've ever met in technology (by a large margin) doesn't have a degree. Neither did his CEO, or the CEOs of two of his largest competitors. But his firm and most others do most of their recruiting from top schools. The degree is like a marker of "200 pounds" for fitness. There are many fit people over 200 pounds, and being 200 pounds isn't the goal. But on average, folks less than 200 pounds are healthier than people over it, so it's a worthy goal. Getting back to the specifics of your situation... You can learn what you need to get a job, but you'll have to find the job through networking and "showing your work." It will be hard to get in via HR or through any kind of automated resume screen. If you can stomach school, find a way to finish it. The "Great Ones" who don't need the degree drop out because they're already being too productive and school is just slowing them down.