Or, what about factoring in long-term and steady stability as being "worth it"? There's definitely a bit of insurance and fallback with having higher education

Or, what about factoring in long-term and steady stability as being "worth it"? There's definitely a bit of insurance and fallback with having higher education that isn't measurable simply by some ROI analysis. There are a lot of jobs you will never be able to apply to if things go south simply by not meeting the minimum requirements. I was considering a dirt-cheap online MBA once simply for this reason if my biz stuff died (did not pursue).