There's no doubt that a degree has merit, but not for all segments of the industry, and in virtually all cases, not at the entry level phases of the industry...which can last a decade or more.

It's very possible to begin one's career and complete a degree (if one is so inclined) online.

While one may wish to seek a degree in an external discipline, there are more considerations than simply having the degree. A 4 year degree in most cases is inadequate to qualify one for a profession; additional schooling is generally necessary. Many college graduates, in fact by far the large majority, do not work within their major field. That is to say, a liberal arts major who is working in the mail room of Barnes and Hitchcock, working the way up to a clerk desk, or the Political Science major who is a sales consultant for Franklin Ford isn't necessarily there on the merits of the major. The degree may have been a deciding factor in the employment, but not necessarily the discipline.

In aviation, nobody cares about the source of the degree (save that it be from an accredited institution, of which there are multiple flavors), nor the discipline. Whether one was an astrophysics major, a political science major, or one got through on an aviation discipline is quite inconsequential to a GIV job or a major airline application. A few target areas (such as Astronaut) look for science majors, but very few do so.

A business degree will get one about as far as anything these days, and there are many business disciplines. Computer programming and various computer science disciplines continue to be in demand, as to family psychology certifications. In many cases, post graudate work is desired, but not at all for aviation. Having a masters over a BA or BS makes little difference in competitiveness. It may make one more marketable, but if one excludes aviation to the tune of concentrating on a post-graudate degree, one may well be throwing away one's aviation career in the process. Far better to get through those early lean years of entry level work, and hammer out the degree while sitting at an outstation all day for Ameriflight, than to put off the flying for another seven years while one works toward a degree one may never use (or that one intends to use as a fall-back).

A degree is not necessary to seek employment with a regional, and it isn't necessary to seek an upgrade. I've noted before that the loftiest position I've thus far attained in my checkered past has been that of 747 captain...and that I did without a degree.

I don't encourage people to forgo an education. Quite the contrary. I will say, however, that if one intends to pursue aviation and still wishes to have a degree, the two are not mutually exclusive unless one goes to school full time. In that case, pursuit of a degree makes it exclusive until the education is over (unless one is doing an aviation degree...which makes for some very expensive flight training). Getting the training done inexpensively, getting one's career established, and hammering out the degree on the side makes a lot more sense, for a lot of people. It's becoming increasingly popular today, particularly as many programs are offering considerable credit (ACE, etc) for FAA certification. ERAU offered me 89 credits, I believe, based on my various FAA certificates. Not all were applicable to the degree, of course, but that's a lot of money not needing to be spent on credits, and a lot of time not needing to be spent doing redundant bookwork, to say nothing of a lot less time needed craming for tests in subjects one will never use, and paying for texts one will never likely read.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Some are more effective than others.