An honest, cited answer. We make no ROI, salary, placement, or 'worth it' claim, and we don't track live job demand — where we don't know, we say so.
It depends on the role — and a degree is common but not universally required. ONET classifies entry IT support (Computer User Support Specialists) as Job Zone 3 (medium preparation): "Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree." More senior roles like Network/Computer Systems Administrators and Information Security Analysts are Job Zone 4: "Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not*." So for an entry support role, certifications plus hands-on experience are often a realistic route; for admin/security roles, a degree is more typical but still not absolute. The honest move: read the actual job postings for the specific role and employers you're targeting — requirements vary by company, and some explicitly accept experience or certs in lieu of a degree.
What we don't know
We don't publish a 'percentage of employers that waive degrees' figure — we found no authoritative primary source for it, and we won't repeat an unsourced statistic.