Okay, coming from a Computer Science major with a bachelor's degree and an Associates degree--
The game industry is brutal. It's the glam job of the programming world that's not so glamorous when you're in it working mandatory overtime. I ended up spending all my professional, employed time programming web dev stuff outside of the game industry, and by the time I got out of that (four years later) I couldn't even remember a time that I had fun with code. I'm doing indie game development now (C# with the Unity Engine), but the only reason I have the time is because I'm sick with a chronic illness that wouldn't let me work a 'normal job' anyway.
As far as the degrees go-- at this point, I'm not sure they're worth it. I never did anything with my AA, and the bachelor's is nice... but the more American education bubbles, the less I believe in it. On the other hand, we're living in an age of unparalleled, free information. So... if you are able to learn on your own without a class, you might consider saving your money and learning on your own. Game development is one of those things you can prove with a well built project in your portfolio instead of a fancy looking degree.
As for the head start? Grab an engine and start making games. My first try was a quidditch game I made back in 1998 in Visual Basic and MS Paint bitmaps (needless to say, it was terrible, but even then, XP is XP). Grab the Unreal Engine or the Unity Engine, sketch out a very, very simple goal, and start working. Grab some free creative commons art and try to make pong. Your first games will be awful. Make them anyway, toss them over your shoulder, and don't look back.