Get a degree in any field because it is necessary for many good jobs

EDUCATION is absolutely necessary, but college is not the only way to obtain education. Especially in the information age, you can can obtain the necessary knowledge to achieve a lot. However

If your primary goal is to do things the traditional way and get a decent paying job working for someone else, you’re at a disadvantage, because many companies require degrees even if the job doesn’t need one to perform well. I’ve seen job ads for armored truck transport who transports money that want a degreed person. No knock on these positions, but all the skills required to be a kick-ass officer can be learned on the job, so why only hire people who have tons of student debt that most armed security jobs won’t even make a dent in?

Add to that that most companies use a applicant tracking system that will intercept and trash your degree-less resume before it can even get to a human that might have the ability to see your other attributes that might make you a good fit could even look at it, and being degreeless puts you at a major disadvantage.

It’s not the college-less/dropouts fault at all, too many companies have drank the college kool-aid and many think that people without degrees are automatically lazy and lack ambition, when said person could have been WORKING straight out of high school gaining valuable technical AND social skills to make them excel at the job. I can’t tell you how many interns have come into companies I have worked from top schools, that had no soft skills and would have been fired for that if they were regular employee.

Ultimately I feel it comes down to a few things:

Your career of choice: This is very important. You can’t expect to be a lawyer, engineer, teacher or doctor and expect not to go to school. Think about it: do you want someone who did not go to school teaching you or your children? Or better yet, do you want someone who did not go to medical school operating on you? If your dream is to be in a career where school is a absolute prerequisite, think long and hard, then go to school. But plenty of well paying trade jobs (construction HVAC, plumbing, welding, etc) don’t need degrees (they do need an education though) or if you are technically inclined web development is a great choice, or UX/UI design (though you need to have an excellent portfolio and network), the military or being self employed don’t need a degree. Sales as well (though be sure you have the personality and tenacity to succeed in sales - I personally don’t).
Your hustle: understand that due to society’s way of thinking you are at an disadvantage without a degree. You need to be confident, be ready to explain why you didn’t go to school and what you did instead, because some people think people that don’t go to college right after high school are just doing nothing with themselves. Be ready for some people to be assholes about it because they themselves drank the college kool-aid and think that a degree is the only way to be successful. Be ready to explain to people how you grew as a person by working instead of going to school. You need to network, because honestly the best way to get a job is through someone else and if you are good at something and can network your ass off, opportunities can come.
Get a mentor: this is huge. If you can find someone in the industry who sees your potential in your dream field and is willing to help, try to see if they will mentor you (just be aware that they are a professional and you can’t hog all their time). The experience and connections can prove invaluable.