Jobs are not always paid well because they need good qualifications. Experience can also speak volumes. This means that if you have work experience, whether paid or voluntary, you could enter at a higher position in a company and therefore be paid more.
Certain industries do pay more than others. If you want to be involved with art and craft then you will not be paid as well as if you are in computing, for example. A job with a higher skill will be paid more, but you may find that with on the job training, that you can get to a higher salary level in the time it would take to get a degree. You just need to choose wisely.