Responding to all of the above, my son (graduate, MBA, and daughter in law (graduate) together earn over half a million a year. I, as a college grad, managed to pick "Liberal Arts" and made nowhere near that ever in any salaried position...so I made my living in real estate. Nevertheless, I used my education in that I was able to make conversation with people of every background, since I knew a "little" about a lot of things. It never hurts to know how to spell and use the English language correctly, to know where Belgium is located (it happened) or to know something about a hobby your client may be interested in. Anybody can do that, of course, but I still believe higher education gives you the background where you don't have to start from scratch.

Beyond just the basics of education, the college experience teaches an 18 year old how to live with all kinds of other people, how to adjust being thrown into a totally different experience, how to use your brain discussing subjects with other bright people, how to challenge your professors (without getting flunked), and generally gives young people time to grow up. Military service might do the same, I guess.