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*****College is a waste of money and time. So very thankful am I to have skipped it. High school was a 4 year jail sentence. Freedom begins where school ends.*****

I would agree that college is not for everyone, but how can you make such a statement?

If it werent for college educations, particularly in the sciences (I'm about to graduate as a mechanical engineer myself), we couldnt push the envelope of our technologically-driven industry.

Yeah, to be honest, I have to make an exception for hard science. I should probably say "liberal arts" education is a waste of time and money and leave it at that. That covers high school and most college. But you're right, engineering and other hard sciences are necessary disciplines that require high level education. Then again, I'm sure engineers are required to take some real waste-of-time courses to get their degree.

Your assertion that the only way we push the technology envelope is through college programs is counter to my observed reality.

Granted there is a need for engineers / doctors / Scientists. But I do not have a college degree and have 3 highly technical patents. I'm also one of the leading experts in my field and my salary is in the top airline pilot / doctor range.

The problem that I have will most colleges and universities, is that they are self fulfilling markets. They have taught people that the only way to get ahead is to have a college degree (patently false) and then the sheep follow that advice to the point where the majority of people who are successful have a degree.

But if you go to them and ask them how much of their degree helped them be successful, you will find an amazing result. Most will tell you that while a couple of classes helped, very little of the degree program is used on a regular basis. In my example, I do have some college but the classes that helped me the most was a HS typing class and a College speed reading program.

Otherwise, all the other classes have not aided me in what I do.

"If it werent for college educations, particularly in the sciences (I'm about to graduate as a mechanical engineer myself), we couldnt push the envelope of our technologically-driven industry."

I've recently been perusing the online job sites here in Colorado as I'm thinking of changing jobs myself. I noticed an opening in Boulder for a Naturalist/Forester. The opening requires a BS and pays at the top end $19,000! What is that degree worth?

After I left the Navy I got an Associates degree in Computer Science and went to work. Over the years I've acquired some knowledge and am employed by IBM in Global Services. I make a very good living, much more than many of those with BS and MA degrees.

I went to several four year schools before I got my Associates and most of the course material was total crap and boring! The state tech school I finally wound up at was great in that the professors actually worked in the field and the useless courses were kept to a minimum.

Sure we need more people in the hard sciences, medicine and (unfortunately) the law, but a lot of the rest are just time-killing, college as uber babysitter.

The fact that 22% of college students today are taking business courses is to me more of a reflection on how difficult the government has made doing business, than the fact that actually doing business is difficult. Who was Bill Gates' business prof and does he now work for MS?

I think for people not in your type courses, one of the best reasons to go on is the people you meet and the relationships (networks, if you will) that are formed. But so many kids would just get such a headstart by skipping college and plunging right in to the work force.

I know a 25 yo down on Cape Cod who owns his own 28' boat, sets lobster pots and fishes for whatever's running, works construction on the side, laying fieldstone walls and fireplaces. He did a roof for a remodel a friend and myself did in Marston's Mills last fall. The guy came at 4 in the afternoon, set up lights and was gone before midnight.

He owns his own home outright, the boat is paid for, two trucks and a car with no notes, so it's still out there for someone who can apply themselves and bust hump.

Now being that age and in graduate school you'd owe how much? Hmmmm...

Up until the 60's, many engineers - electrical, mehanical and otherwise - only possessed a high school education and then a few years at trade school. I believe the % of engineers with college training was only 40%. We sent men to the moon with technology developed by high school graduates.