For more anecdotal data points: I did not go to college. My first full time job was 3 years as what was basically help desk, with a bit of systems administrati

For more anecdotal data points: I did not go to college. My first full time job was 3 years as what was basically help desk, with a bit of systems administration work thrown in. It did not pay particularly well, but it was still around the level that a lot of people with "normal" (none-STEM/Medical/etc type) degrees start at. After I got bored of it, I did some random consulting/contract work for various companies. A connection I met at one of those got me a job working for a company that would eventually wind up being purchased by IBM. At that place I was making as much as most of the people I went to high school with that were graduating with engineering degrees around that time and getting started in the industry. My next place of employment after a few years at that company put my salary range into a level that basically none of my peers from high school are at, including ones that have STEM degrees and law degrees. The couple that went on to become doctors are just now finishing up their residencies and will probably be beating me soon. One of my good friends from school followed a pretty similar path as me, and has an excellent job as a security engineer for a fortune 10 company without a degree. Networking + ability will help a lot in making up for not having a degree.