If I could have been a web developer 6 years ago before college only by interest alone - things would be different. In industry, it is required to have 2-4 years experience or a degree to even get your foot in the door (or a callback).
Also, I feel like people who took the time to get degrees have the groundwork to learn new things faster. Treehouse seems redundant since youtube has videos on every topic that they teach. I don't know...maybe some people learn better with puppets.