I spent six years at university before learning to fly and getting an airline job. I used my first degree to move on to the second, but other than holiday work with my undergraduate sponsoring company, I've never used any of my academic qualifications for employment purposes. If I could go back and do it all again, even being in my company where seniority is the be all and end all, I would still go and spend those six years at university. The amount of personal development, let alone intellectual development that I was lucky enough to experience, was in my opinion, priceless. I have plenty of friends in the flying world who missed university due to commencing flying right away. Every single one of them with friends of similar ages who went off to university, regrets not having had that same experience. These days, you'll be flying until you are in your sixties if you are lucky enough to fly right up until retirement. That leaves plenty of time for university and/or whatever else takes your fancy, before you embark on your chosen career.
If finances are an issue, do what I did - find university sponsorship. It provides the added bonus of 'real' industrial experience during the holidays, which in itself provided a wealth of personal development for me.
Many people both in and out of the flying world, suggest that my six years at university were a waste of time, but I achieved way more in that time than I ever will in six years of flying, no matter how much money I earn...
GS