I think higher education in general is valuable for, well, any job. Especially because of the dire state of highschool education in the US due to a combination

I think higher education in general is valuable for, well, any job. Especially because of the dire state of highschool education in the US due to a combination of factors. That's partly why companies demand a college degree because it's a guarantee of a certain level of performance (and wealth, for that matter). There are only really two ways to fix this problem. 1. Make college education free. This includes trade schools for those that would want to go that route. 2. Government regulation to cut back on companies demanding higher education for blue collar work. Since this is the result of the free market (companies wouldn't demand that level of education if they couldn't get away with it) then you would have to add some restrictions on the free market to solve it.