[mrtron]

I would add something to why a degree is useful: A degree forces you to learn things that you would otherwise not learn. I hate stats, but I had to learn stats. It has surprisingly proved useful in my work from time to time. The same follows with about 100 other things I was forced to learn, and that have popped up. Usually they are relatively obscure topics you have no interest in and avoid, but occasionally they are whole subjects that you just dislike.