That's true. My basic experience as an undergrad at a large research university is that the full-time professors and the TAs just simply didn't care about me. T

That's true. My basic experience as an undergrad at a large research university is that the full-time professors and the TAs just simply didn't care about me. They presumably had the answers I needed when trying to learn new material, but the professors were too busy, and most of the TAs were incapable of communicating anything to me in English. I was just there to contribute financially to the system, be herded from one lecture hall to another, and just generally stay quiet. Only when I showed interest in graduate school did I get any attention. I had to teach myself nearly everything, and were it not for the motivation that comes from attending classes, labs and exams with my peers, I could have easily done the whole things independently and remotely. More to your point about job training, I studied math, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but I use little of it from day to day as a software engineer, and I've forgotten most of it.