I think college was worth it as a socially and professionally "allowed" buffer between high school and white collar work, which allowed me the time to figure out what direction to go (My high school was rural -- there was no internet or talk of people working in computers. I needed to get away from that). I also think it would be worth it to someone post-high school age to mark off the checkbox during the hiring process for a large company that requires degrees.
I don't think it made me a better thinker or gave me a better view on the world than if I had taken a "gap" 4 years instead. Like, I took classes that showed me I would hate actuarial science, but I could have learned that by Googling for a while instead of failing Theory of Interest.
So many people in tech have art degrees or math degrees (hi!) that had no coding components at all but check the box to allow them a job as a programmer. Or no engineering degree, but you need a degree to be a software engineer. So I don't think the worth it in the context of the education but moreso 1. you committed to something and did it and 2. it's a metric to allow for judging candidates who all appear equal.
Like, it's hard to go to a 7am class of bs that in no way relates to your profession. It's also hard to go to a 7am meeting of bs that in no way affects your job but you're a required invite in case someone asks you a question. The college degree can be a signal that you can push through the bs to get to a goal, and since most jobs are mostly tedious, that can be an important flag to recruiters.
(Mainly added this paragraph to say I'm not against recruiters requiring degrees -- but I would like there to be thought behind why, and that experience should be seen equal to education if the skill level is the same)
It's a complicated question with complicated answers :)
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I think college was worth it as a socially and professionally "allowed" buffer between high school and white collar work, which allowed me the time to figure out what direction to go (My high school was rural -- there was no internet or talk of people working in computers. I needed to get away from that). I also think it would be worth it to someone post-high school age to mark off the checkbox during the hiring process for a large company that requires degrees.
I don't think it made me a better thinker or gave me a better view on the world than if I had taken a "gap" 4 years instead. Like, I took classes that showed me I would hate actuarial science, but I could have learned that by Googling for a while instead of failing Theory of Interest.
So many people in tech have art degrees or math degrees (hi!) that had no coding components at all but check the box to allow them a job as a programmer. Or no engineering degree, but you need a degree to be a software engineer. So I don't think the worth it in the context of the education but moreso 1. you committed to something and did it and 2. it's a metric to allow for judging candidates who all appear equal.
Like, it's hard to go to a 7am class of bs that in no way relates to your profession. It's also hard to go to a 7am meeting of bs that in no way affects your job but you're a required invite in case someone asks you a question. The college degree can be a signal that you can push through the bs to get to a goal, and since most jobs are mostly tedious, that can be an important flag to recruiters.
(Mainly added this paragraph to say I'm not against recruiters requiring degrees -- but I would like there to be thought behind why, and that experience should be seen equal to education if the skill level is the same)
It's a complicated question with complicated answers :)