Depends on what you consider an engineer, I have a friend that’s a CNC programmer that thinks he’s one. I’d beg to differ.
No credible company will let you do engineering without a minimum of a bachelors from an accredited university. And for good reason. I’ve seen the courses and texts for a college “engineering” program, it merely teaches you to apply concepts you don’t actually understand. The most important part of being an engineer is reasoning things out, and being able to answer when someone asks “why?”. You can’t get there without a proper education.
You are right about the whole being stuck in an office part though, but that depends on the person, I like working in an office. I even want to do my MBA in a couple of years so I can go into management. There’s not much money to be had by staying on the technical side of things for the rest of your life.