You could try working at a startup, or starting your own. A big financial institution is able to hire people for specific roles. If they need someone to focus on algorithms, they will hire a top CS grad. If they need someone to do web design, they hire you. At a startup, you get (have) to do a little of everything, so you'll get more experience there.
Do you really need that piece of paper, or can just having enough experience and the knowledge itself get you the job of your dreams?
No, you don't need the degree. With a BA in English, I am on about the same footing as college dropouts in the programming world, but my experience speaks for itself. I've worked with many CS majors who learned how to talk about algorithms and data structures, but I have demonstrated that I can ship code actually using them.