I'd be careful of generalizing like that to say one always needs a degree. It ignores individual experience and norms in countries which can differ.

I'm a developer without an IT degree. I have a business degree. Often the job posts here say they need "Com Sci degree or degree in related field" and that hasn't stop me getting several IT jobs. (One actually had a big machine learning part) Because employers value experience (can you do the job and what have you built before?) more than qualification. The first IT place I worked said they invited for a interview because I had a strong github portfolio and that my CV alone was too weak on the tech side. So remember that real world projects and side projects in your portfolio will showcase your ability to employers

If you have zero college degrees you might struggle against developers / data scientists who have a degree in business, or tech etc. As a degree does signify a high level of dedication and problem solving.

Also there are a ton of ways to get qualified online through short and long, paid and free online courses. If you want to beef up your CV and your Github portfolio with data science qualifications.

I also chatted to my brother to works in machine learning space and I said I was worried I was not qualified enough to keep at the machine learning direction. and he said that there those who have the formally educated com sci / stats background and those who learn by experience and are self taught. And he said both exist in the field and you don't have to only be educated to be successful.