I know these examples are out there, but many are the exception, and not the rule. In America, you used to be able to finish High School and move out into the world and make a decent living as a blue collar worker. Many, many of those jobs are now gone as our Industrial/Manufacturing base has eroded and been out sourced.

I just left the military in March of 2012. 25 years in the service, with tons of experience and hands on training. I did manage to take college courses here or there, but it wasnt a priority to me, as I had a family, and a military career meant taking military schooling as available. That, and we have been kind of busy the last 10 years and I didnt have an MOS that kept me on the big FOBs with college available. Since I knew a trade, and was good with my hands, and had massive leadership/management experience, I thought getting a job after the Army would be no sweat.

But as SHR pointed out....the damned BA/BS is the new standard, replacing the High School diploma in the job market in the North East. I cant get a call back for an interview on any of the managerial or supervisory jobs I have applied for. With the flood of unemployed college graduates out there, having only a HS diploma is almost economic suicide.