Mind you, success (depending on how you define it) is not very likely, regardless of your background. 95% of the population in North America earn less than $80K

Mind you, success (depending on how you define it) is not very likely, regardless of your background. 95% of the population in North America earn less than $80K per year. A decent income at the high end, but not what most people consider successful. Looking closer at the numbers, the top 1% is comprised of 27% without a degree and 24% with a non-graduate degree. That seems indicate to me that there is no real benefit to having a "plain old" degree with regards to success at all. The remaining 49% have a post-graduate degree. This indicates that there may be some merit to pursuing post-graduate studies. However, we already know that most JD and MD graduates generally make 1% incomes due to market protections associated with that education, so it is not clear if any old post-graduate degree would also put you at the same level. Unfortunately, the data that I have access to does not break it down any further. The numbers most certainly demonstrate a correlation with education and achievement in work, but the variability between people is so wide the numbers are basically meaningless with respect to any common interpretations. So far, I have not found any compelling argument for a college education in this context (there are a million other good reasons, of course), outside of areas where legal protections exist. If you dream is to be a doctor then a college education is a must, obviously, but it is not so clear cut for the common man.