I don't know of too many non-management salaried fields, period, that match what a decently-paid IT "veteran" can earn that do not absolutely a degree in the field.
This is very true. And even in degree-required jobs there's not a lot of time left to get to the high-paying gigs. I'm currently moving from a 25 year career in IT (MSc in CompSci, compiler writer) to law, and it's unlikely that in the time I have remaining before retirement (or death) that I'll ever reach the salary I gave up. And that even before I factor in the cost of the degree...