In some ways, I am so glad to not have a degree, and to have forged my own path.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/yourmoney/consumer/article-12806053/companies-ax-college-bachelors-degree-requirements-walmart.html?ito=native_share_article-nativemenubutton

Imagine being in crippling debt for a piece of paper that has been devalued vs. experience? Some fields of study ABSOLUTELY require a degree..like docs, lawyers, etc....But if you just want to know history..learn history. You don't need to spend 100k+!!! Trade school until your house and 2 vehicles are paid off..THEN do what thou wilt.

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HootyTheNightOwl

I'm not sure that I agree with the "devalued" part of your comment. A degree is a degree after all.

One problem that can be common for people graduating with degrees is that they still might not end up working in a job that even remotely uses their degree. Wouldn't it be better to allow them to demonstrate their ability to do the job through experience in this case - or should they be made to sit through another degree to get to the higher end of their new job???

A degree is great if you can graduate and jump straight into your chosen field of work - but if not, you can reach the point where you are trapped working what is a dead end job for you, where you are working to pay down your debt, but you are unable or unwilling to go back and sit another degree to progress in the different career path.

At least, if you could show that you can do the job through experience, you also open up the possibility for poorer people who can't afford to go to university to work enough to stand a chance to really do well at work.

We have vocational training here - and, if you stick at it for long enough, you can earn the equivalent of a degree. I'm not entirely convinced that this is a bad thing, given that you can work and earn a (small) wage at the same time as you learn.

If I could change anything, I would probably make the wage a bit higher, though, given that you need a lot of help from the government to keep your head above water while you are studying - and you are still working full time hours.