I am sure there a lot of very smart people with great programming skills and without a degree. However at least in Germany I see another problem: Almost every job ad for a programming positition starts with "Computer science or related degree required". Without a degree you are just filtered out by the Human Resources Department that doesn't know anything about programming at all. They are just checking formalities and doing buzzword matching. You won't even get to an interview or get an opportunity to prove your skills. :-(