The particulars are believable. Even the idea that it'd happen directly to the guys face is believable.

I've seen it happen. One of my friends felt sorry for another because he was merely a "mechanic" and we had gone through university, but as it turns out he was a Porsche mechanic pulling 68k which was a lot more than what a recent grad international studies intern makes.

I guess I'm very fortunate that I'm not aware of anyone I've met being able to say something like this to someone:

"Ah...shame. We make very good money, thanks to our degrees. Isn't a sad thing that you are forced to work in this shitty job?"

Yeah, I literally cannot imagine anyone even saying that. As in "there does not exist a human being I've spoken to in my entire life who would use that sentence". Not exaggerating.

I hear, and think if you enjoy being a mechanic, the more power to you, but I feel like going to college opens up more doors for more money overall, especially 10 years down the road. only 1 of the 15 guys working in the shop can own it, so even if your friend ends up being the scrapy one who figures it out and buys it, there are still 14 other guys who aren't as lucky.