Seriously, though, the college educated are a selected population, they generally have more talent, ambition and drive than those who do not attend. A college education can be an indication of these traits. I am not sure there is any evidence that a college education, per se, adds a lot of value.
Another issue is certification and licensure. More opportunities are open to people with academic “credentials”, no matter how dubious the value of said credentials.
Well, it all depends on what you do. I once had a job recruiter tell me (in the poor economy), that when the resumes come in, there is the pile with “graduated State U”....and then there is the pile with “attended State U”.....
Guess which pile didn’t go in the trash?
Certainly, every case is different.