Absolutely. I had to get the piece of paper to get a job, but the "education" I received is nowhere near as valuable in my field (software development) as real world experience. Maybe 5 of the courses I took were both useful and things I didn't already know.
My sentiments exactly. Every employer wants the college degree but not one thing you learned in college applies to the job. My experience in software has been that it's about 20% learning enough to get thru the technical interview, and know the buzzwords that the H-R preson interviewing you wants to hear, the rest is all OJT. The most successful programmers I know were those who could learn fast and be flexible to ever evolving user specs. Of course in my neck of the woods, anyone in I.T. over the age of 40 is unemployed, everyone else is worried about the next round of layoffs.