I generally agree with this position. However, my son wanted to be an engineer, so he learned calculus and got into a well-regarded engineering program. My mo

I generally agree with this position. However, my son wanted to be an engineer, so he learned calculus and got into a well-regarded engineering program. My mother is pretty well off and she's been funding his education. Now he's about to graduate with his degree and become an ME. My feeling is that there are a number of occupations that meet a couple of criteria: - you actually need both a highly-specialized education - there is a certificate that you can only get through formal education - there are jobs waiting for successful applicants - the student in question has a good chance at succeeding - there is some underlying support for the student (in the case of loans, this would tighten up the question about success and and the kinds of jobs available) I believe in the utility of a deep humanities education, but the US university system makes that ruinously expensive to the point where I more or less agree with your sentiment. It sucks that "necessity for work" has become the only reasonable way of deciding to pursue deeper education.