Ask HN: Is it a waste of time to teach yourself data science without a degree?

I see a lot of people teaching themselves data science and machine learning but it seems that in the real world you won't be allowed anywhere near such a position without having a degree in the subject. This is opposed to regular programming gigs where you can get work based on a portfolio. Also there are efforts to commoditize common methods and algorithms by wrapping them up in APIs and SDKs. So is it a waste of time to learn it on the side with the hopes of getting a data science job ?