There's a debate going on about whether or not a higher education degree really means anything. You know it's a real issue when middle-class white parents from the mid-west USA are contemplating sending junior to a vocational-type, trade school as opposed to the traditional four-year institution, claiming that - paraphrased from a March 2010 article in the USA Today newspaper - "he learns differently than others."
Me, I think there has long been a question of the true value of an education once you got past the high school years -- maybe even before high school. Sometimes I even think that the University was primarily for those seemingly talentless (by manual labor or productive standards) children of well-to-do folks to at least become proficient in talking about stuff. And, indeed, if you look back in history at the advent of the University, especially in England, this was largely the "occupation" of children of the wealthy: to become well-rounded, educated in the things of the world.
As time has gone by, yes, we have found ways to use this knowledge to inspire those who could actually transform ideas into things we could act upon. And this, in turn, created a new need for others with like knowledge in order to create the things we discovered. As a result, higher education became something that became more of a necessity, more of a tool, than a vanity degree, to groom one to speak eloquently of any and every subject known to man. Now, I realize that mine is a grossly simplified (and, possibly, slightly skewed) editorial on the evolution of the role of higher education, but my point is this: At some point, young people need to understand the changing role of higher education in their lives. With the ease of accessibility to a college education (so far), its importance is not only so that they become knowledgeable in things of the world and can handle themselves in social settings, but also that they become competent in a trade by which they can make their living (or fortune) in the world. But the balance is what is key: the balance between the experience of working with and meeting other people from a very global community, and learning things that one has a natural tendency to do well at (to my mind, one is not rewarded with fortune over things that they are "mediocre" at doing, rather, they usually must be really "good" - if not, exceptional.
When one asks me about my qualifications and degrees (which they equate with preparedness for some task or another), I am pleased to say that I have completed my MBA, simply because I have been exposed and am now immune to the fear and intimidation I might otherwise be susceptible to when faced with various persons who have had more time than I to concentrate on doting on all of the things of the world and perfectly developing my social graces. This is what I came away with. That and some of the tricks of the trade, in terms of finding shortcuts to doing what I might instinctively set out to do (being innately "organized") but would necessarily otherwise have to engage in trial-and-error scenarios to reach the same desired outcome.
For the purpose of promotion, this is where my trade, my raw talent and skills, my personality and work ethic are going to take over. This is where distinction comes between those who have found their true calling in life and those who have simply acquired a vanity degree, fooling themselves into thinking they are in the right line of business for one reason or another. My education, in many instances, can get me in the door, but, quite frankly, at the end of the day, either I am good at what I do, or I stink at it. That part has nothing to do with my educational preparedness. That part lies solely on me...
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