Quick anecdote from my personal experience, learning to code as a hobbyist and then later getting a hybrid Software Engineering and Computer Science degree (it was mostly CS with some SE topics and projects): you can totally learn without a degree, but my code, reasoning about data structures, algorithms and performance and general software architecture definitely improved sharply by getting the degree. I think partly due to exposure to additional subjects that I may not have self-studied, partly due to having time to spend on it and partly because of the coursework/lectures.
Of course you totally can learn everything you would ever want or need yourself, but there's definitely value in a few years dedicated to learning this stuff and getting exposed to subjects, projects and peers is useful. Whether or not its better probably depends on the individual and what you make of it, though.
If someone disagrees with me, it would be great if you told me why my experience and opinion is wrong... I mean, really, I can't learn from a downvote!
Of course you totally can learn everything you would ever want or need yourself, but there's definitely value in a few years dedicated to learning this stuff and getting exposed to subjects, projects and peers is useful. Whether or not its better probably depends on the individual and what you make of it, though.