Spaulding wrote:
I think there is a certain amount of value in education, especially if you will use the degree in your chosen career. My husband doesn't use his degree but he would not have been hired for his job had he not had his degree.
One of my uncles likes to give my parents a hard time because he believes they are suckers for spending 80K for me to be a housewife. I like to think when my children are grown I'll go back to work. Also if something happens to my husband or he leaves me I'll be better off than if I only had a HS education.
There is also a difference in my "non college educated" friends maturity level. I don't know if they will ever grow up. I'm not sure if that is just the way they are or if it's a result of them not attending college. But I believe college is a good learning experience and years spent there were some of the best years of my life.
There is also where a college education benefits you in the workplace in non-measurable ways. While I don't use my degree as a mail carrier, my intelligence and ability to study has allowed me to learn all 24 routes in our department. (Figure 300-500 addresses per route, then it sounds a heck of alot more impressive than "24".) That's an awful amount of information to be able to recall, and I don't think I would be as good as I am as a carrier without my education.
Now, I never have, nor will I, feel that educated workers are "better" than those who never have gone to college. To me, the best workers I've ever known was my grandad and my Uncle John, who were two hard workers. Grandpa got his accounting degree, but also worked on it while raising a family, worked the railroads, etc. Uncle John was that stereotypic hard-as-nails Polish lunchbox carrying guys who saved his money, worked his rear off, and made something for himself and his family.
As far as working until retirement, the trades you make very good money; and if you take care of yourself, and see to your physical conditioning, you can easily work into your sixties barring serious injury.