You don't have to have a degree to find something better than walmart. And remember, pay does not matter in the end. If you love your job, its easy to make $8 an hour and still love it. If you hate your job, even $25 an hour will only keep your there long enough to find something you enjoy. Technical trades(welding, diesel, etc) are in high demand. An associates is honestly not worth the time. Even a bachelors these days is far too common.(unless its in engineering, healthcare, math or science). You almost have to have a masters to stand out. So trade schools are looking better and better. I refuse to ruin my body for the next 40 years doing manual labor though, so I went to college for a bachelors. Having a bachelor's allows you to apply to jobs other can't, the job interview is the most important aspect though no matter what.

Honestly, college is a full ass scam that is pushed on us and sadly we have to do that or manual labor the rest of our lives. But it has opened doors I otherwise wouldn't have been allowed into. At the very least it gave me 4 more years to decide what I want to do, and grow as an adult. Theres no right or wrong answer. Find something you enjoy, and fucking chase that the rest of your life till you can do it and get paid doing it.