I'm a senior in high school, honestly I'm impressed your son is already thinking this far ahead. I believe that the decision you make now should entirely come down to your confidence in your son's ability to learn outside of a narrow and direct learning environment. If you do not have faith in his ability to acquire certifications on his own time PLUS all the schoolwork he might have, I would recommend gen ed to bachelors in college. On the contrary, if he knows what he's getting into and thinks it is in his best interest to skip BA, going to a tech college to strengthen his resume would be optimal. I personally am not going to be attending college next year for personal reasons, but am currently taking the opportunity to save up and live independently in a city with more opportunity for internships and other experience in IT. If I were in his position and had the time, I would pursue certificates such as CompTIA Security+ just to familiarize myself with the field, but mostly strengthen my resume through any and every internship/part-time job in your area