I understand the premise of college, however except for certain highly specialized or certified jobs I don't really see the value for money in it. I see the value of going to law school to get a law degree and help in passing the bar, but I don't see the value in taking English if you plan to get a career out of it... unless perhaps you desire to teach English.

I mean I'm working to become a novelist, and the best advice I ever saw was to find something that interests you and then write about it. I mean all my favorite writers come from such bizarre fields like a ESA scientists, Cops, Soldiers, Forensic Investigators, Physicists, Economists, Mathematicians, etc. Not a single one (that I'm aware of) even touched English, yet all are full time writers.

I mean a perfect example of this is Cory Doctorow. He dropped out of four universities, became an electronics right activist and worked for the EFF before quitting and becoming a full-time writer. No degree in english, no creative writing in university.

IMO I see this happening in IT. The classic path to money was joining the economic elite, however 2/3 of the biggest names in IT never graduated university. Dell dropped out of University of Texas; Jobs I believe dropped out of Reed College and only Gates actually graduated, however from what I remember his path through Higher Education wasn't typical of the economic elite as he got fascinated by computers and did his own thing instead of what his parents planned for him.