The Tech industry is one of the few industries where you can do very well without a degree. I know people off the top of my head making > $50k without a degree

The Tech industry is one of the few industries where you can do very well without a degree. I know people off the top of my head making > $50k without a degree in the Midwest US. (so, say, $91K in San Fran using WolframAlpha's cost of living adjuster.) Like most things there are some caveats. It will be harder to get into the top tier tech companies, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc, hire people without degrees, but not nearly as much as other organizations on the other tiers. Similarly, there are certain high frequency low latency trading firms that won't look at your resume without some MIT connection. Some places will hire you with no problem, but have rules that will eventually cap your salary. These are usually government offices, state-run universities, etc. (For example, I know of universities where no programmer without without a master's degree can get past tier XYZ)