What is the benefit of having a degree if it is not related to your career field?

[BMWGuinness]

Generally, the earning of a 4-year college degree implies that one is an educated person. It is not unlike a brand, with which a consumer (employer, grad school, etc.) can identify. A college degree tells something about you in three seconds that might take a half-hour discussion to otherwise get across.

Some time ago, I spent years working in IT without a degree. In my experience, "equivalent experience" in lieu of a degree is acceptable to employers for either of two reasons:

One - they want to pay less than market for the position.
Two - there is a shortage of IT types with the skill sets they seek.

Either way, you are vulnerable when the market for IT labor shifts.

An IT-related degree is more valuable than an unrelated degree for those new to the IT field or that have limited experience.

An experienced IT pro that earns a degree in basket weaving later in their career gets a bump because the hr types can check off the degree box.

A potential employer is going to be far more impressed with the fact that someone has been paying the candidate to perform similar work for x years that they would be by the new IT degree.

That is interesting. I recently did a study with several consulting firms in my area that placed IT Certifications above Degree in the IT field, and placed higher regard to the Degree when one was seeking management. I was told with my qualifications that I would be stuck in the $30/hr-$40/hr range unless I decided to pursue management.

Initially I thought BSBA MIS into an MBA program would be ideal.
Then I thought BSLS into an MBA program would be fine, since it might be much faster.
Now I'm back to thinking about BSBA MIS incase it takes a while to finish the MBA.
Now I'm wondering if BSLS to BSBA MIS to MBA would be a viable option.