It's worth it for the speed of learning it affords you later. It won't teach you to program - A CS degree teaches you to learn, and learn fast.

I've seen so many technically superior students fail to learn a new technique because they couldn't read the logic notation.

That said, a CS degree is less cost effective per niche subject than a specialist with 10+ years experience.

Money wise, it's more or less the same, biased towards experience.