For the employer, yes, because it's so much easier to justify hiring someone with a degree vs someone without. I don't think for most tech jobs a degree is needed in terms of skills; We're at a point where there is basically nothing that can be self taught. I'm self taught, working in my field, just now decided to get the degree in that field just in case I need it. I think the entire concept of what the purpose of a degree is has been lost. A degree was initially just proof that you learned "something". For an employer, the "if" should matter, not the "how". At the agency I'm at not one of the designers actually has a "graphic design" degree...