I guess I was thinking of technical fields, like engineering. You can't really get around the need for a B.S. degree to be an engineer.
And, with today being what it is, you can expect not to be at the same company for ever. Working up for the bottom is possible (my friend is now the production manager at a fire truck plant that way) but if you get laid off or move, you have a hard time.
For most degrees, though, you are correct. A liberal arts degree is not with the paper it is printed on.
True. I have an ME degree, but I never worked as one. I remember attempting the PE exam and got blown out of the water.
But instead of degrees, why couldn't people take ME exams, or EE exams? They could be very extensive, day-long affairs.
Sure, there would be an incentive to beat the system. But colleges are "beating the system" now when they award students phony or weak engineering degrees.
On the other hand, a working guy could study at night for his engineering degree. He'd have to be a much more sober individual than I was at that age (pun intended), but he'd have an incentive to be.