[tthomas48]

I think in many ways it's easier for people like me who have non-vocational degrees. I have a theater degree and I knew I'd have to build a career in a non-traditional way. I was never under the delusion that the thing that I enjoyed studying was going to pay my bills.

My "career" started in a Dell call center (although I had many service industry and manual labor jobs before it) and through various vertical and lateral moves has led me to be a senior software developer.

My degree in theater has been extremely useful and a strong selling point in pretty much every job I've applied for. I can talk about my acting classes as being useful when talking to customers. I can talk about classes in design and construction that show a proven track record in taking abstract ideas and translating them into full products.

There's zero use for a vocational degree in a global economy. There's only value in having an education.