Yes, a degree make a massive difference, particularly if you aspire to work in an established technology environment. Decide what you want to do, and then work out what you need to do to get there.
If you dont want to do a degree- what then do you do? Basically you have to somehow get experience. But if an employer is willing to take you on without any experience, then that is probably not a place that you want to work. They will have low standards and poor pay and conditions, and therefore churn out poor products. So it is unlikely that this will create a "stepping stone" that will get you where you want to go.
To cut a long story short, since getting up to speed is realistically going to take you a year or two anyway, you might as well go to college.
I dont mean to sound grumpy here, but I just feel that there is concerted effort from some quarters to talk down the value of a good education when clearly if you look at Silicon Valley, education is valued really highly.