Experience matters much more than degree in the web dev/ops field. The tricky issue with foregoing college is you have to get experience first, and without expe

Experience matters much more than degree in the web dev/ops field. The tricky issue with foregoing college is you have to get experience first, and without experience you likely won't get a corporate position. Networking, open source activity, volunteering, freelancing, and personal projects can help to get that first foot in the door. A year of real experience is more important than 4 years of college, imho. With the right networking and projects in the high school years, you can have a position waiting on you and then have 4 years experience under your belt before you'd have graduated college. For some people, this will make more sense (and cents) than the college route. There's a lot of people with college degrees waiting tables, but very few people with software or operations experience have a hard time finding work, regardless of their college education status.