[ThisIsTheWay]

Sure, but there is a lot more going on in a university setting - particularly one one campus and learning in person - that results in learning beyond the curriculum of a student's major. While I dreaded the prospect of taking a class on feminism, which was a requirement for my degree, that class pushed me outside my comfort zone and I learned far more about the world than I did in my upper div classes. The downside of MOOCs is being able to pick and choose the classes that you want to take instead of a full curriculum that lends itself to developing a more well rounded student.

[andreilys]

I’m not sure that 5-6 figures of debt is worth pushing you “out of your comfort zone”.

You can get that for a lot cheaper by traveling and staying in hostels (and also become more well rounded!)

[ClumsyPilot]

In some countries Education is a human right and universities are free.

Unless you are going to outproduce China and Vietnam, or are sitting on top of natural resources, the only path is through very skilled population working in high-skill industries.

Its fine if to occasionally pay for some random irrelevant degree, because the cost of uneducated and unproductive population is much higher.

[dgellow]

> In some countries Education is a human right and universities are free.

If you hint to European countries, our universities aren't free at all, we pay them via tax money. Not because "education is a human right" but because that's a more sustainable way to finance the system over the long term and education. Students still have tuition costs though, but of course not as crazy as what you have in the US.

But even in this context universities are reserved to a small number of people, mostly from a wealthier background, and the main reason for students to go to university is to have a "student experience" for a few years, not to learn the actual content. Only a small subset already knows what they want to do when they pick a university.

[exdsq]

> Its fine if to occasionally pay for some random irrelevant degree, because the cost of uneducated and unproductive population is much higher.

Is it? Imagine if everyone got a 4-year degree - you’d see a dip in productivity (due to less working years per adult), a dip in spending (due to debts), and little productivity gains due to a lack of degree-related work in general.

[imtringued]

Just think of all the trades. Construction is a booming industry with a shortage of workers. If you forced plumbers to get a humanities degree they would be worse off.

[ClumsyPilot]

What do you mean "forced"? Noone is snatching men off construction sites to chain them to the desk in a classroom of lesbian dance theory

[exdsq]

If the status quo is that you should go then parental pressure could force some people to go. I know I wanted to finish academia long before I could...

[ThisIsTheWay]

You can get a great education from a state school or community college for less than $30K where I live. Travelling and staying in hostels for 4 years isn't free, and like it or not, a majority of the time employers are going to favor a degree over experience travelling the world.