For him, if he had it to do over again, he would have skipped college and gone for his licenses and ratings ASAP. Then, once he had his first flying job, he would do night school until he got a degree.
So, he’s not saying don’t get a degree. He’s just saying his skill didn’t require it.
In my business, we’ll hire and train. My best employee will make $70k. The average will be around $50k. That’s higher than most places because of cost of living. But they’ll make decent money (relatively speaking) and won’t have a degree.