I have the following certs: A+, Network+, Security+, Linux+, CEH, and MCSA. I do plan on taking the red hat cert within next 6 months and CISSP within the next year or so. I do have an associates in Information Technology but did go back to school and am working for my Bach. degree in information tech with concentration in security. Eventually I would love to get my masters. Basically in my opinion the better the degree the higher the pay and the less work you have to do.
I have been in IT since I was 19 (am 35 now), started as a bench tech. When I completed my associates I was fortunate enough to get a job with a local telecom as a network security auditor (the interview was more responsible for getting the job than the degree--he grilled me on various techniques) but that company was a casualty of the tech bubble bursting. So after that I ended up moving to Las Vegas and starting a company for myself. We did just about everything imaginable, from break/fix to pen testing. We moved there and the business was founded in 01, ended up selling the business in 08 when we decided to move back to NY (hard to raise a young child in Vegas). And since moving back I got a job with an insurance company as a help desk admin.
Cisco certs are very good to have. I really should get the CCSP. With a cisco cert (or a few) you are almost assured to get a job. I am the same, I hate learning from books and I need to be doing it. What I might suggest is buying a used cisco router on ebay or something and just set it up at home and play around with it