Dropping out of high school contains much more risk, though, and things are much harder.

Don't drop out of high school, just treat it with kid gloves. High school was when I dabbled with things I thought I might want to do later on (I started a community web site, I wrote and self-published a novel). As a result, in college I find that I have not only the freedom to work on whatever projects I want to, but I go into those projects with perspective and useful knowledge.

In the end, the tactic doesn't matter: only the results. You'll find people in any field that were homeschooled and people who graduated with doctorates and spent 10 years working at some generic job, just waiting. If it gets you where you want to be, do it.