I think I have a somewhat unpopular and romantic opinion: a tertiary education is important not only for what you can learn in regular classes (or the prospects

I think I have a somewhat unpopular and romantic opinion: a tertiary education is important not only for what you can learn in regular classes (or the prospects this learning may give you), but the knowledge you can gain outside of them if you are interested in doing so. I studied at a fairly big public university in the third world, not very special by any standards, but the experience of being inside an academic center, with access to people from a myriad of backgrounds studying very different disciplines opened my mind irrevocably. And, I believe, made me a much better engineer. I recognise that very few people have an opportunity like the one I had and a two year degree with an extreme focus is more suitable for some folks, mainly because of the absurd tuition costs in the US (I studied for free). But it seems the concept of the university serving as a knowledge hub is fading away and giving way to a hyper capitalistic vision where only your future paychecks matter thanks to a kind of social anxiety.