Was a degree of any sort necessary for you to obtain your current position ?

Nope, I'm in sales and it doesn't require a degree.

Yes Azalea, a degree was absolutely necessary for my position. It is the beginning of your field-related education in IT, not the end.

Pursuing professional certifications in IT is the best way to demonstrate some level of competence that employers can use to determine skill levels without having to administer and support customized testing for each new IT hire. Therefore I highly recommend specialized certifications (CCNA, MCP, A+ etc.) early in your career and more generalized certifications (CISA and the like) later in your career. This shows you're a constant learner (you MUST be, in IT) and supplements your experience with independent confirmation that you know what you're doing.

Good luck to you.

Yes. A University degree goes a long way in assuring your first employer of the foundation of your basic skill set(s). A four year degree touches on various different aspects of IT that enable the student to make an informed decision about the IT domain they would like to start a career in. For example, a computer networks cluster might pave the path for a career as a Networks Engineer, a software engineering cluster might lead one to pursuing a Software Engineer role and the like.

While it is true that the industry prefers those with a degree it is more often than not the rule and most rules have exceptions. The rule is true for most hardware oriented careers like Network Engineers, Storage Engineers where hands on experience is either gained at University or in the industry with very few options in between like certificate courses. The exception can be seen in software oriented careers especially like a mobile software developer, web developer and the like where it is relatively easier to learn from sources on the internet (Coursera, Udemy etc.) and demonstrate the gained skill set (Github, Bitbucket etc.) Contributing to open source projects too go a long way in providing credibility as a developer.