If by "later in your career" you mean 3-5 years from now or later, if you use your time well, you will have more than the requirements for jobs which usually require a degree "or" 3-5 years industry experience. You have a huge opportunity to go your own way, in a massive field, with plenty of resources to get you where you want to go, alone.
It will be tough going at first, but if you are good at what you do, you can out-pace what you would earn with a degree. You will have some "verifiable" acclaim, and you can back up everything you may with evidence you built yourself, while doing client projects all you can. Look through online databases of freelancing gigs, but it's a wild west.
A BS in Computer Science will not serve you well if you intend to do front-end engineering, for the most part. IMO, it would be better to work in online communities of experts such as http://stackoverflow.com or http://ux.stackexchange.com/, earn reputation there, and build a portfolio of past work.
Most of all, stay relevant. If you do projects for your own experimentation, develop them to a point that is presentable, then move on to more paid work or experimental work that demonstrates being on the edge of the field, until you are sure you want to "specialize" in a certain way or format or technology.
On the whole, you can do everything you might want to do, including gain contacts and peer review, without college. Participate in online communities with good offline meet-ups and conferences, etc. Stay connected, eager, and active. In 3-5 years you'll have a demonstrated track record of being self-motivated, well educated, and extremely progressive.
I can't over emphasize how saturated the field is, which will be tough for you with or without a degree unless you set yourself apart. Focus on that, regardless of what else you do. I personally believe an independently created career without a degree will be more lucrative in the long run.
It will be tough going at first, but if you are good at what you do, you can out-pace what you would earn with a degree. You will have some "verifiable" acclaim, and you can back up everything you may with evidence you built yourself, while doing client projects all you can. Look through online databases of freelancing gigs, but it's a wild west.
A BS in Computer Science will not serve you well if you intend to do front-end engineering, for the most part. IMO, it would be better to work in online communities of experts such as http://stackoverflow.com or http://ux.stackexchange.com/, earn reputation there, and build a portfolio of past work.
Most of all, stay relevant. If you do projects for your own experimentation, develop them to a point that is presentable, then move on to more paid work or experimental work that demonstrates being on the edge of the field, until you are sure you want to "specialize" in a certain way or format or technology.
On the whole, you can do everything you might want to do, including gain contacts and peer review, without college. Participate in online communities with good offline meet-ups and conferences, etc. Stay connected, eager, and active. In 3-5 years you'll have a demonstrated track record of being self-motivated, well educated, and extremely progressive.
I can't over emphasize how saturated the field is, which will be tough for you with or without a degree unless you set yourself apart. Focus on that, regardless of what else you do. I personally believe an independently created career without a degree will be more lucrative in the long run.