I'm not so sure. Amongst those I know who program, the ones who finished college are doing better. I think there is a tremendous difference between on the one hand 1) engaging in schooling, finding an opportunity that is more valuable (along some metric) than schooling, and pursuing it; and on the other hand 2) deciding you don't need schooling and spending time just looking for those opportunities (it is frequently difficult to get a good sense of whether you are pursuing them effectively, and they may not come in any event).