Thanks for sharing your personal story. As a good stereotype, I would've never guessed your initial career path by how well-spoken and intelligent you are, so therein lies your answer. I feel that education can be acquired anywhere, at any time, by those with the initiative to learn. While a degree is still essential in society today as a prerequisite for most employers, more people are realizing that there are other opportunities outside of the standard corporate/retail workforce model for them to seize if they are able to take the leap of faith. Society conditions us to go through its system and controls, but once you see that the system is herding most people to be unfulfilled in life, you'll never look at it the same way again. Thankfully, Steemit seems to have opened your eyes to what you're capable of doing when you invest YOU into YOURSELF, not your soul into a corporation for someone else. I also feel that so many universities are run like they are businesses instead of educational institutions, so I may be biased.

As for me, college was mainly a way for me to develop socially and gain independence. I feel that I did my best learning and school development before college, whereas most of the skills I use today on my own are merely natural talents and common sense. It's also about who you meet and who you know, so networking can be much more impactful on one's success than educational credentials -- as you also pointed out in your own experience.

My resume was very strong, but I see it as a waste of time now. All it did was delay me from pursuing my true passion, by giving me lots of credentials on paper that forced me down a tunnel I didn't really want to go down anyway.