A degree sure will make you feel good, but it will never substitute your real world experience. I received a BS in computer science and started my masters in business, but everything I practice have not been from what I learned in the class room.

The only thing I remember learning from school is how to teach myself. The rest is history. I spend a great deal of my time reading books, listening to business audio books, creating new projects, frequenting business forums and getting clients, among other things.

In my sophomore year of college, I got a full time job in my school getting paid a great deal of money, practicing those things that I had thought myself, not what the same school was teaching me.

If you get to understand that schools are “business structures” with “education” as their product and are in it for themselves, whether you learn or not, then it will be very easy for you to start taking action into getting some real world experience. There comes a time when you need to get your feet wet and even if you stay in school for 40 years, the real world will always provide its variations from what school has to offer.

I would recommend that you get your feet wet as soon as possible so that you can fail quickly(is almost inevitable to get things right the first time), recover and acquire some experience. Chances are most of your learning will probably come from your mistakes, so don't be afraid to fail and whenever you do fail, see it as another learning experience and not a heart attack.