oh, so you must know what an average is then.
see, i was confused by your description of college grads as "walmart greeters" and "paint department reps at home depot". because that seems to imply they would make less than someone who seems to despise the very idea of college like you.
on average, earning a degree is more lucrative overall. the more degrees you get, the better. in other words, nothing like the "walmart greeters" that you imagine college graduates to be.
There is a pretty good explanation for why those with degrees succeed that goes beyond the intrinsic merit of holding a degree.
Folks who are going to succeed in life are pretty much funneled into colleges. They are told all throughout high school that they have to go to college, so they go.
There are plenty of people who go, and yet fail at life. There are people who go, drop out, and succeed.
The drive and ambition that is inherently a part of what it takes to succeed is what makes folks go to college to begin with.
Since I graduated my degree has gotten my foot in the door at places, but I didn't get to keep the jobs because of it, I had to work hard and perform well while there.
Imagine being called into your bosses office because your sales have been lacking, and you defend them how? Your degree makes no benefit at this point.
There are several professions that require a degree.
Can't be a doctor without med school.
Can't be a nurse without nursing school.
You CAN be a lawyer in some states without law school, oddly enough, but bar passage rates in the one state I know of without a law degree is much lower.
Most degrees, however, do not have a corresponding profession to go into after college.
Prticularly the liberal arts degrees, are only worth a damn when they are terminal degrees, and then only good for becoming a professor, or adding a masters to it in another field, often something a community college teacher would do.
They do open doors for you, but you got to do all the walking.