I worked full time through school. It was tough, but finishing asap and without student loans was important to me. I lived at home with my parents and commuted and worked a job that had flexible hours.
My advice to anyone just getting out of high school is to knuckle down and get a degree from a reputable school as fast as possible. Once you have that piece of paper, doors will open for you, from there, you've gotta prove yourself.
I work for the county, been there two years and run two small programs. I worked hard to get where I'm at, and its definately not the end of the line for me. Government is a good place for someone to find a job and roll with it for the rest of their career with weekends and holidays off and not have much pressure or stress, but there is opportunity for younger motivated people as well, you just have to prove yourself and be ready to work. I'm not wealthy, but I'm not worried about money by any means, and I'm not at all worried about layoffs, losing my job, etc.