a 500$ cables and couple electronic chips package is hardly "expensive equipment"
ANd talent. Omg who should see the kind of loser that can graduate, maybe not in 4 years but over 5 years anyone can do it.
I'm not really talking about basic stuff here. If you want to be a chemical engineer, go into the pharmaceutical industry, petroleum industry, do any sort of research, go into government or investigative work, you need a degree. Simply for access to equipment (A lot of places will not sell to anything other than companies or academic institutions), learn how to use it properly and how to think critically in a field. Not to mention a degree is basically a multi-million dollar institution confirming you are at least somewhat competent in your field and you can navigate through the basics. Google isn't a replacement for someone who can guide you through hurdles, help you write grants, know what companies are looking for and networking influence through alumni and private sponsors. A degree is more than just learning something, its having access to a network of resources of a million or billion dollar institution.
Not to mention most people don't have the self-discipline or can structure this sort of thing for themselves. Or would even know how to do it. If you can, more power to you. But I really wouldn't recommend it unless you had the confidence, determination and know what you are doing. Its just getting extraordinarily competitive for people without degrees or trade experience. A degree isn't a comment on your self worth, there's no shame in not having one. Its all about keeping yourself as competitive as possible. I wish it weren't the case and in many jobs a degree is simply not necessary or even irrelevant. I've known seniors with 20+ years of experience in fields who are getting turned away from jobs because they don't have a meaningless piece of paper that wasn't important 30 years ago but now magically is because of saturation. "Your experience looks good, but you don't have x degree..." Its pure nonsense.
The University as an institution was never meant to be like this, but its just a consequence of the modern world and the belief that having a degree is necessary for secure employment or proves anything at all. I've also seen a lot of the dangerous 'If I went through this shit, you have to too' from employers and people in administrative positions.
That trade school option looks good.
Trade schools are a good option, but you still need to do the same research you would do for colleges. There's really no more 'get trade = get job'. You can also fuck yourself over if you get trained in a trade that is saturated in your area. But yes, its a good alternative for people who don't like or want college.
