I'll throw my experience out there too: I'm now mid-twenties, and have no real education going for me - did okay in my GCSEs (this is in the UK by the way), but horribly in my A Levels. Importantly though, I did a bit of programming as a hobby while looking for a job (e.g. CS50x), and (sort of) kept it up once I found one.

A couple of years later, a job came up within my company to do some technical work for a different department, the majority of which involved writing R scripts for the foreseeable. I applied and, much to my surprise, got the job!

That's despite never having written a single line of R! - which I was completely honest about, for what it's worth. Sure, it's nothing too glamorous, but I enjoy it, and it pays decently well (for me/my area anyway).

That said, I've now applied for university, as I think a degree'll serve me better in the long run and help me develop a better foundation of knowledge to build from, and progress towards roles closer to actual software engineering.

I have gotten an offer with my first choice of uni, but am still having a very hard time deciding whether or not to go.

(It's also worth noting that, for me, having a degree makes working/living abroad a bit more feasible, which is something I care about).