I agree with your points. The fact is, the ONLY thing that matters to the company hiring you is the ability to do the job. And the only way to demostrate you can do the job is a track record. I don't have a degree, just tons of industry experience and vendor certifications. I beat out several people with newly minted degrees because I had a demonstrated track record and ability to do the job. None of the IT jobs posted here require a degree, they all say "degree + 2 years experience, or Diploma + 3 years experience, or No formal education and 5+ years experience". The experience is more valuable than the degree, I would suggest people forgo the formal education and instead spend that time and money doing as much volunteer and entry level work as possible, in the end it's worth more. Degrees don't fix things, people do.