I think it comes down largely to what you know, and if you can show it. I don't have a degree and I have a great job. I also get contacted usually multiple time

I think it comes down largely to what you know, and if you can show it. I don't have a degree and I have a great job. I also get contacted usually multiple times a week about jobs. I maintain some open source projects, I have an active SO profile, Github profile, blog and I keep LinkedIn up-to-date. That seems to be enough. Regardless of whether you have a degree or not those are all valuable things that can show what you know and help your career a lot. I just don't think you need a degree if you know what you're doing.