For me it was worth it for not having to go in the army. The draft was still a thing back then, both options were paid by the government. Not a hard choice! Learn to think or learn to follow orders.

The 100% part means more to those noticing it than whatever degree you're packing.  It's what I look for. 

STEM degree, yep. Everything else, other than a few special snowflakes, no.

Well depends on the degree you are going for. Because from the sounds of it you are better off then most people who went to college. A boss of mine went to college to be a mental health practitioner. (Sorry been up the past 24 hours can't spell right now so wasn't going to try.) He ended up working McDonald's and is still working McDonalds. This was because the pay was actually better for him at McDonald's then in his field. He may have eventually got more then he was making at the time. Now he is a district (patch) manager and makes more then he would have ever so the degree was somewhat worthless.

I had a friend in collage that went for an odd ball degree because that what he was interested in, and it doesn't have any good paying jobs attached to it at all. Now he is a stay at home husband, she was in the ROTC and is in command of one of the silos on the west coast the last I heard.

It depends on your goals, the degree, the university in question, etc. Some fields you will not - I repeat, WILL NOT - get a job worth a piss (or any job at all) without a degree. Others they are looking for one. Others, it's just a bonus. And then some degrees have strong pull in one field, others offer modest pull in a wide range. Also, for some degrees, the value is in the learning, not the degree itself. I studied Creative Writing. My Bachelors Degree in that isn't going to land me a managers position. But I consider my learning in that invaluable to my writing and it taught me a lot about the publishing world as well.

And then the university. People seem to fail to realize the difference between a college that offers more or less a trade-school-esque focus where your studies are aggressively limited to only the most immediately needed for your degree and a more liberal arts approach. Personally, I advocate liberal arts as it leads to a more well rounded degree. I myself went to a liberal arts school and as such I not only know Creative Writing, I also have knowledge in philosophy from ancient to modern, business writing, technical writing, and art as well as some other areas.

And as I know people in management positions, I can tell you liberal arts does address severl issues businesses have with college graduates: inability to effectively communicate in a business setting, lack of knowledge of business document formatting, lack of skill in business and technical writing. I mean, because of my writing requirements for my degree, I probably know more about business writing than many Business Admin majors from other schools that just don't require as much roundedness in study.

And then of course some schools are strong in some areas and weak in others. My university had very strong Fine Arts, English/Writing, Nursing, Engineering, Business and Seminary programs. Everything else was good, but not as good. Wake Forest is obviously very strong in medical programs. Harvard is renowned for business and law. Fairleigh Dickenson at Florham is exceptionally strong in Creative Writing. And so on. You go where it makes the most sense, obviously. Many make the mistake of going somewhere cheap rather than a more fitting option. Also, keep in mind every university has a core philosophy and worldview, which you also need to consider.

But the bottom line is it is all contextual to your desired pursuits and the university and degree in question. It's not a simple yes or no.

LOL I came here to say the same thing! ( Having my country on my mind ) hahah

I personally am only going for an Associates degree and a community college. If I was planning on getting a job that I knew I would need a Bachelors degree then I'd obviously do that. But to answer your question on if it's worth it, it depends on what you want to do as a career. There are plenty of jobs out there you don't need a college degree to make good money but at the same time; there are plenty of jobs that do require at least some secondary education. Whether that's a certificate program, associates degree, bachelors, masters etc...

I knew someone who inherited 200k and used it to be come a landlord instead of going to college. He bought out nice homes. He was able to rack around 30k a year right away and able to expand as time goes on. Honestly in this day and age if I was able to inherit money like that I would do the same thing or invest it in a fund or something. Because with college you are not guarantee a job and you are not guarantee success.

well it is so true though.

In Australia for example someone painting walls, plumber, electrcian etc can earn 6 figures if they work up to the right level. 

In other countries half those jobs are considered scrapping the bottom of barrel type so they don't pay well. 

Going to college does not guarantee you will graduate and get a good paying job.

However, not going to college will guarantee your job prospects will be limited for your working life.

That said, here's my two cents.

1. If you are gifted, i.e. you get good grades in high school and study hard, then go to college. Chances are you will get a scholarship to help pay your way and you have a good chance at being recruited for a job and not have to go through the shitty ass process of searching and interviewing for a good job.

2. If you get shitty grades in high school - consider joining the US Armed Forces. Yes, boot camp sucks, as does wearing a shitty uniform, but at least you can get a security clearance pretty easily which will help you get a job in the private sector, especially with a defense contractor.

3. If you got good grades in high school, but hate to study, and know you will party your ass off in college (like myself), consider joining ROTC in your freshman, but no later than your sophomore year. You will be commissioned as an officer upon graduation. Make big time cake. Get that important security clearance. And position yourself to have great employment success.

To finish with my own history....I went to college at the University of New Hampshire. My parents split the cost with me 50/50. I majored in Political Science. I didn't want to join ROTC as my father had spent 23 years in the USMC and I was naive enough to think that I could do better and graduate and get a job with the CIA.

At graduation time I learned that the CIA was recruiting more heavily at schools like Harvard and Yale, and little UNH was forgotten. I did try to join the US Air Force at the last minute, even took an exam to try to get into Officer Candidate School (OCS) but they told me that even though my exam score was great, the available openings were extremely limited, but that if only I was a minority, my chances would be much better.

To conclude, in hindsight, I wish I had joined Air Force ROTC during my college years. I would have made my MOS as intelligence. I would have graduated as an officer - and I would probably be working today for the NRO. Which is the agency responsible for the reconnaissance satellites of the USA, as I am a huge fan of America's space program.