Ditto gorter.
Have to agree 100%. I got a degree in computing and worked for a couple of years as a contractor which allowed me to not only save a lot of money for training but also gave me an immense amount of life experience as I was living away fom home at the time.
As has been mentioned previously a degree is not essential but can prove to a future employer that you are a determined individual. Besides the aviation industry is a fickle one and you'll never know when it might change so falling back on something outside of the aviation industry is well advised.