[isochronous]

I'd argue that this is less true for the specific field in question (computer science). Most companies looking to hire a developer aren't looking for a jack-of-all-trades hacker, they're looking for someone with a specific skillset, and in my experience it's not very hard for one good developer to recognize another good developer, especially with the way most CS interviews are conducted: problem solving, whiteboarding code, mock design sessions, etc. If you're a developer and you can't satisfy yourself that another developer being interviewed has the skills you need, you need to work on your interview questions.

That being said, it's almost certainly easier to land an interview in the first place with a good degree. I'm in Atlanta, and every company I've worked for here has almost automatically granted an interview to anyone with a degree from Georgia Tech.