I do have a bachelor's degree, a rather expensive one, which I paid for mostly myself (and with some private scholarships). Burned out (from fatigue and disillusionment) working two jobs and going to school fulltime by senior year, and knew I'd never go on to grad school - wouldn't even want to.
Except for the few wonderful people I met, and the many new experiences I had, in college (which I could have found in many situations), I wouldn't spend the money on it if I had it to do over again.
I often think back to how, as a kid and teenager, I loved hanging out in houses under construction, and in my family's greenhouses. But I was labeled "college-bound" in school. I asked the guidance counselors several times about taking classes in horticulture and construction trades, and they were horrified at the idea. They only put the troublemaker or "slow" kids in those classes.
I wonder today not only at the misery and humiliation those "slow" kids must go through, being limited in that way when they have much more in them, but also at the flip side - what happens when the not-so-slow ones are directed away from their natural inclinations too?
And I've been realizing for many years now that, just because you're good at one thing, people tend to think that's what you should do the rest of your life. What a terrible trap. I fell into it in high school, and allowed it to determine my college major, which I don't even use today.
Shoot, I could have rebelled, taken those plumbing and HVAC and carpentry classes, and been making a ton more money today - and without all the debt from college that dogged me for over a decade. I could have bought land and built a house long ago.
Today I'm much wiser, and I realize the importance of the practical arts and sciences. But I've had to learn them on my own. I've got a lot of respect for those who "work with their hands," because if they're good at it, they're using their brains too.