Yes, there is great quality content available free and online. But it is incredibly rare for some to get a CS level education from it, because it's not something you can easily do part time. Even if you just try to learn the materials from core CS classes I've taken, that's a few textbooks, a few large projects, and a LOT of hours of studying and work. College lets you get that done all at once - if I tried to give myself a "CS education" while having a full time job, I am pretty confident I would have failed. It certainly couldn't come in just a few years.