Here's my recommendation: you aren't going to make much money without solid references. A portfolio is mostly meaningless. What you want are references. But th

Here's my recommendation: you aren't going to make much money without solid references. A portfolio is mostly meaningless. What you want are references. But the market is strong right now for developers. So, rather than racking up a bunch of debt, why not finish your BS in CompSci at a state school part-time while working full time? You'll be getting real, hands-on experience through your work, and buttressing your non-CS skill set as well as your non-practical CS skills. Financially, you'll be making decent enough money that you should be able to afford to live comfortably and pay for school as you go (depending what state you live in). I know it's possible because I recently did the number's for a friend of mine's younger brother who is in the same boat. He lives in Minnesota. YMMV in other regions. After, say, 6 years, you should be able to have a CS degree and 6 years of experience, plus references. With that, you should be able to make great money and be well positioned for when the market isn't so good for developers. A lot my friends in the 90s who dropped out of their CS degrees because the market was hot had to either leave the industry, take massive pay cuts, or go back to school and take on a lot of debt when the market crashed. When nobody is hiring but the big boys, college degrees are the price of admission, even for shit jobs.