From middle school up to high school all I heard was "Go To College. It opens up doors and is the key to success...blah...blah...blah..." I believed it, went to college. Freshman orientation was like "College is the key to success, it is the key to life. You took a great step in life....blah...blah...blah."
Then at college graduation the keynote speaker is like "Now you can go to grad school."
I'm thinking the key to success was a 4 year degree that's what nikkas been telling me since 7th grade up until this point in my life. I got out in the world acquired a bunch of shytty dead in jobs then got laid off 3 times in 4 years. nikkas now is telling me to go back to school and get a masters to better compete for 60-70K jobs I could've gotten a decade ago with an undergrad degree and work experience.
Education is a hustle right now. And it's designed to keep a lot of students in debt. And the notion that you are supposed to go deeper in debt to acquire a Masters or more is ridiculous. Unless you have a technical profession (i.e. Doctor, Dentist, Engineer, Lawyer) a 4 year undergrad degree is all the formal education you need. The rest is based around your connections, personality, work experience & to a lesser degree your work ethic. Those four items will take you a lot further in life than PHDs or Masters ever could.