Speaking as a twentysomething who went to college, got his associates, and has still been struggling these last few years due to the economy (but not nearly as bad as my friends who ditched college in favor of a "manager" position at their dollar-something-above-minimum-wage jobs), I understood what you meant Wil. And I agree with it wholeheartedly. What I've found though is that my college education hasn't (so far) meant a thing to anyone who's hired me since I got the degree. What it /did/ do, was to focus me on one career path rather than just taking whatever work was available. And that has meant that each job I've gotten has given me experience that future employers have seen as being relevant to the position they're trying to fill, and thus has kept periods of unemployment short (even if not as short as I'd have liked). It's all in what you take out of it I suppose, but I still look at friends of mine who chose to take the easier path (going straight to work rather than going to school) and I'm grateful I stuck it out till I got the degree. Doesn't mean I'm feeling at all inclined to go and get the next level degree anytime soon (I've never been a fan of organized education), but I'm grateful for the education I did get.