The saying that one doesn't need a degree to get a tech job is nonsense. Do the test: Ask one guy working in one of the major tech company how many of his direct neighbors have a degree, most likely it's all of them.
The statements don't contradict. Read the source, the other 24% are marked as "unknown" status, not as not having a degree.
Furthermore, that's the statistics for the whole company. It's higher for tech jobs. It's higher for younger folks. It's higher in countries where degrees are affordable.
Instead, here some numbers showing that 76% of ALL Google employees have a degree. https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/28/this-tech-company-has-the-mo...
The saying that one doesn't need a degree to get a tech job is nonsense. Do the test: Ask one guy working in one of the major tech company how many of his direct neighbors have a degree, most likely it's all of them.