My first job could not be obtained without a college degree, and specifically you need the degree that I got to get the position. After that though, its all about who you know and how well you can bullshit everyone into thinking you know what you are doing.
For the past 10 years, I've been working in a field that does not require a degree in order to land the job. But you need to know what you are doing and what you are talking about.
In my experience, people with degrees tend to advance more quickly than without, and those with degrees from prestigious schools tend to advance almost immediately. I had been in the field for about 8 years, and at this particular position for 1 year, and one day I was assigned a new manager, someone who was about 5 years younger than me, but had an advanced degree from Wharton, he was fresh out school, and was already an executive level position with a salary probably close to 200k/yr. He was fired a year later, he was not able to walk the walk and I think was already burnt out from such a tough school.