[midnightclubbed]

I have to disagree. At some point in your 30-40 year career you may well want to leave the start-up treadmill and join a big company. At that point you'll hit HR pay-grade limits based on your degree (or lack thereof). Big companies do sexy work too. You'll also be un-attractive to start-ups once you get over 40 because, well, you're old and they're not.

Have a friend in his 40s having to plough through a degree (while holding down a full time job, and family duties) for just this reason.

[genwin]

Once while applying for a major company I asked if my lack of degree was an issue, since it was supposedly a requirement. The interviewer said "Our CEO is a college drop-out. We don't care!" When the OP needs to work for Big Corp., he could apply to jobs that say "degree or equivalent experience". There are thousands of them.

A degree is nice to have, but for the price plus opportunity cost (perhaps $200K for the OP) it may be a net negative.

I too have a 40-something friend finishing his degree. He does feel it would have helped his career.