The advantages of initiation rituals, self- or otherwise, are that they give you a boost in your development and enable you to make use of certain energies linked to the symbols of the degree. It's as if you were making a long journey on foot, and every so often you got to a place where a bus covers part of the route; you can catch the bus, rest your feet for a while, and get off a few miles further along, or you can just keep walking. You'll get to your destination either way, but taking the initiatory bus when you can gets you there a little sooner and makes the trip a little easier.