I dropped out of high school to do web application development. Tried going to a technical college to get some kind of degree while working full time and I eventually had to choose work or go to school.
I chose to work. I was making $100k+ by the time I was 19 and kept advancing my career steadily. To this day probably 90% of the jobs I've applied to haven't questioned the fact that I do not have a degree, it's all about ability and what I have done. Startups make up that other 10% - even though I now have 10 years (i'm 27) of professional, proven development experience I've experienced a lot of apprehension in interviews because I didn't go to college.
So there is definitely some upside financially, but also you may not be able to land your dream job one day because you lack the college experience.