BA in English, minored in History. This was back before there was such a thing as Baristas!!.
If one earned a degree, which was respected then, meant one could learn!! Worked in an array of fields, none linked to teaching-where most English majors ended in the old days.
Though I oft-times wish I’d used my college time more wisely-why. oh. why didn’t I major in business- my reading propensities have given a lotta satisfaction in my private life.
My background is similar. BA in Humanities, with English and History as my chosen fields. I took one business course to strengthen my resume but knew I needed more. Since Economics I was a prerequisite for most business courses, I took that. It was the hardest course of my college career. I got an A but I really had to work for it.
I worked in various fields–banking, hospital, and for the last 26 years of my employment, I worked in a science department that was focused on field research.
Yes, a liberal arts degree allows one to do many things and wear many hats.
Science degrees and poor timing allow for this as well! Such as me, finishing a Computer Science degree in 2001 as the tech bubble burst…
At least I tell myself I fared better than a bunch of my buddies who interned and then worked at Lehman Bros and Bear Stearns with their Engineering degrees…
BS in Computer Science back in the day when we were excited that computer memory had gotten down to $1/mb (not GIG, but megabyte). Built a new machine with 128 mb of RAM. It was so fast :).
I dropped out of school after barely finishing 8th grade 
Then I didn’t do anything more or better with my life until my mid 30’s, when I discovered money could be made at Yahoo auctions! Got my GED for the heck of it in my early 40’s.
I have learned to speak (reasonably) fluidly a second language (This one, though not Dogtamer style), have done my own accounting and business taxes the last 20+ years (no, never been audited lol) Taught myself inventory storage, sourcing, and management. Learned customer service the hard way, learned many different software programs. Learned to study sales channel policies before they bite me in the ■■■.
My Dad only finished 8th grade yet he worked as a contractor moving houses and making foundations and basements. He had to calculate with pencil and paper the measurements of a foundation and how many cubic yards of cement were needed. No computers available in his day.
There’s a lot to be said for OJT (On the Job Training) and self-directed learning. Learning by doing is also a very effective way of figuring out how to do things.
I had a whole existential crisis over what I wanted to major in for undergrad: psychology or English. I finally decided on psych because I didn’t want to grade high school essays for 30+ years.
Mr graduated from the same liberal arts college, with a computer science major. He has no graduate degrees.
He makes 4x my most recent salary, with way better benefits and workplace culture.
Get the tech degrees, kids.
Decided after high school I didn’t want to take on debt going to college. Answered an ad for “front office help” for $600 month (1977). It was a lawyer’s office and led to a 40 year legal assistant career (on the job training). 20 years into the career, I started doing craft shows. 20 years later, I quit the job to do craft shows full time and then the pandemic hit. Went 100% online in 2020 and made $108k my first year (handmade seller)–cleared more than my career job. Why did I wait so long to quit?
Dropped out of College after a semester. Later grabbed an Associates at the local Community/Technical College for Utility Linemen. And much later I got a B.S. by correspondence in Website Development. I think degrees are overrated and not enough importance is put on critical thinking, comprehension, literacy, and actual experience.
“Why, anybody can have a brain. That’s a very mediocre commodity. Every pusillanimous creature that crawls on the Earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain. Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. And when they come out, they think deep thoughts and with no more brains than you have. But they have one thing you haven’t got: a diploma.”
BA with a dual Major in English and Secondary Education, Minors in Communication and Phys.Ed (coaching Certificate).
Left it all behind in 2008 when parents got really bad, and kids got REALLLLLY obnoxious. I knew I was done when I tried hold back an eighth grader literally had a 0.08 grade for the entire semester and he was passed on b/c his mom didn’t think I tried hard enough
I think college is overrated. It’s not what all kids need.
My state doesn’t do much right, but our tech and (practical skills focused) junior college network offers great training, certification, and job placement. And many high schools are now offering programs to 11th and 12th graders that get them training and hours, that will count towards that post-high school certification and licensing (think careers like welding, cosmetology, nursing caregiver, etc).
I do not talk about the subject areas of my degrees. They are not relevant to my life, career or education.
I followed my interests and got a well rounded education in spite of my majors.
Sent three kids to private colleges, none of them have ever worked in jobs associated with their majors.
I’ve mentioned the effects of my varied careers, and I have had varied careers because of my short attention span, and loss of interest in a traditional career path.
My granddaughter, a college freshman, shows every sign that her future success will not be based on her major. She will probably never find a job as an archeologist.
Local bands, naughty stuff, and living the good life?
No, wait, those ARE relevant! 
AA from the Community College of the Air Force in Business Management
BS in Industrial Technology (the ONLY academic degree you could put together with the right classes while stationed in England)
MS in Industrial Relations (again, the ONLY master’s program where I could go part time at West Virginia Univerisity).
Can you tell I took the Air Force’s pushing education seriously?
Honestly…that master’s degree was more of a payback/you done pissed me off goal. at 15 years in service, only 3% of the enlisted folks had a degree and most of those were E-8’s and E-9’s. I was an E-6…how do I know? at my assignment at Maxwell, I had access to the personnel system at Randolph and I could look up those statistics. But back at WVU ROTC, the boss wanted to mark me down in one of the performance categories for “expanding your horizons” – I had my bachelor’s – time to chill, but NOPE. So I took the GMAT, and sucked. Then since I was at a regular university – not a base, going part time was foreign to the university particularly for a master’s degree. There was ONE. So I enrolled. THEN I found out tuition was $60 whoppin a semester plus books. So my book each semester cost me MORE than tuition. 15 classes, no dissertation, no thesis (yeah!) AND the bosses were basically backed into a corner to give me a flexible lunch. NO evening classes…darn…can’t mark me down…or let me go to class, one semester at a time. 3 years later I was done. I wouldn’t have done it, but the boss pissed me off.
Then I moved to Maxwell…faced the same issue…and the only way was up…ALMOST went and got a CPA or a JD…but opened my business instead and stood firm and said no more school. I had more education than my boss (only a bachelor’s) …as enlisted, he was a Major… Later like three years, I did get a special on the spot promotion with another stripe from our General (called STEP). I firmly believe it’s my education that made me feel comfortable in my skin and choices.
Did that and still made Dean’s List.
Added to all of that course work which I thought would make me an educated person. As if the ton of required courses one was laden with in the 1960’s was not enough.
Even had a 20+ hour a week job, which was another learning experience.
Sleeping was not a high priority, and I had pharmaceutical help in avoiding it.
TBH, I did not expect that…
Is college a bit overrated? Sure, can be.
Does it depend greatly on your area of study? I would argue it does greatly.
Does it give you a lot of foundational education and lifelong learning prowess? Most definitely.
Can you achieve many of the same things from a trade or technical school? Probably.
Bull.S. in Computer Science
I made a minor correction. The greatest gifts you can give a child are literacy and analytical thought. Read and question everything.
A education is one were you can learn and apply the knowledge.
It is not defined by a single book, a single class or a single school.
It is defined by one’s own desire to learn.
What one does with that knowledge and how one uses it defines his/her character.
We have attended some college but have no degree.
Our knowledge comes from mentors and our desire to seek answers for problems that stand before us.
Does everyone need an education … yes. But college is only one of many ways to attain an education … and a piece of paper does not define anyone.
Your knowledge and how you use it defines you and your character.
And your knowledge is the greatest gift that you can share.
And it is a parent’s greatest responsibility and cannot be completely delegated to anyone else.
I will hit you with all my superlatives I list when I want to piss someone off.
BS, NREMTP, NYS Paramedic, NYS CIC, Haz Mat Decon Tech, PADI Rescue diver
And I think it’s all BS, a lot of my skills I learned just how @Lost_My_Marbles describes. I like to read. The initials on paper impress people, but I found actions impress people more.