The answer to the question "Is formal education important ? " is yes and no. IMHO

People who are 60 and above were born right after the great depression and many of us retirees are children or grandchildren of immigrants. For many bright children from hard working families, education past high school wasn't a viable option, and if any in the family were educated, boys were picked first. As a result, many from my high school graduating class did not go on to college, and yet most of them became successful, in one way or another. Most managed to have nice homes, "steady" work and apparently happy lives.