I was in a similar position, and even skipped college in lieu of coding. It was the right choice for me at the time, but in retrospect I'm not significantly farther ahead of my peers - our coding ability has leveled out, and they have CS degrees while I have a few more years of experience.
The one difference (compared to 17) is that I have a lot less free time now - I wake up at 7am, I'm at work by 9:30am, leave around 5:30pm, and I'm home at 6:30pm. I end up with maybe three free hours after dinner. When I was younger I spent that time tinkering with side projects or working, while now I prioritize doing things that are fundamentally different than my day-to-day work :)
My biased opinion is -- if you don't absolutely need the money -- spend the time on fun side projects with cool technology or practice an instrument or something else fun. You'll have years and years to code 40 hours a week for money!
The one difference (compared to 17) is that I have a lot less free time now - I wake up at 7am, I'm at work by 9:30am, leave around 5:30pm, and I'm home at 6:30pm. I end up with maybe three free hours after dinner. When I was younger I spent that time tinkering with side projects or working, while now I prioritize doing things that are fundamentally different than my day-to-day work :)
My biased opinion is -- if you don't absolutely need the money -- spend the time on fun side projects with cool technology or practice an instrument or something else fun. You'll have years and years to code 40 hours a week for money!