@Minion-Queen mentioned me earlier in this thread, and I just wanted to pop in and confirm what she had to say; I worked with NTG as an intern for three years, training on PBX Engineering, and the use of several other systems, and I cannot stress enough how valuable interning can be. The day I turned 18, they brought me on board as a full-time employee, and have given me the resources to continue growing in experience and IT related knowledge. I'm able to get senior-level certifications if I work towards them, and I never paid a dime for a college education.
I'd say college isn't entirely necessary for IT, unless, as @scottalanmiller has said, you want to go for any sort of Business Management degree. The people who have gone for that tend to get jobs in this field pretty quick, so far as I've seen in my few years experience.