[cweagans]

As someone that was in your position not so long ago (5 years), here's what I've learned:

- Yes, you can get good programming jobs based on your experience and portfolio.

- No, college is not a required step.

- I would recommend working in bigger teams, as exposure to other developers, teams, and processes are going to be very valuable to you.

- Not in my experience.

HOWEVER:

As someone who doesn't have a degree, I will also say that I frequently notice the gaps in my knowledge, and while I'm actively working to fill them, it's a lot more difficult to do so when working full time because there's actual work to do. I'd very strongly recommend going to college right after high school if you're going to get a computer science degree. It doesn't have to be anything fancy nor expensive.