This is a question that plagues many people around the country and the world. The answer is not definite and could easily change due to your circumstances, but as it stands, the best thing to do is to get a degree, and engineering is a growing field that is being integrated into almost every business in modern society. If you go into computer or electrical engineering, your prospects for finding a good high paying job ($50,000 or higher starting salary) will go way up. The computer revolution makes these jobs the fastes...

This is a question that plagues many people around the country and the world. The answer is not definite and could easily change due to your circumstances, but as it stands, the best thing to do is to get a degree, and engineering is a growing field that is being integrated into almost every business in modern society. If you go into computer or electrical engineering, your prospects for finding a good high paying job ($50,000 or higher starting salary) will go way up. The computer revolution makes these jobs the fastest growing area in the economy, and it is wise to get into the field. The downside is that you may easily find the information you learned in school outdated, so you will constantly need to keep up with growing technology. That being said, it is a very rewarding field, and I would encourage anyone to get into it. The money you may NOT make while getting your degree will probably be made back after you have it, and then you will have the degree to fall back on. In a position without a degree you risk being passes up, as you said, by those bearing degrees, so just having one is a plus anywhere. If time is a large factor, might I suggest online courses? They may be enough to keep up your hours if you do in fact find that you need to work more while you continue your schooling.
Good luck, and I hope this has helped.