Right - people should have a choice instead of being led to believe that you will never amount to anything unless you have at least a 4 year degree.

Union apprentice programs. Trade schools. Two year schools. Four year schools. Masters and doctorate programs. All are valid forms of higher education, but society has a whole stigmatizes some of them.

Master carpenters can easily make six figures a year, but a college graduate in a cubicle with a BA degree will make fun of him because he isn't "educated." Society has programmed us almost since birth to seek that four year degree to be successful.

I got a two year degree. I started as a technician and now I'm a reactor engineer and will likely me moving on to a position with a utility at a plant in the next few years. But my "worth" in the eyes of society is low because I only have an associates degree and not a bachelors degree, nevermind that my work is far more beneficial to society than many four year degree graduates.

Whatever you want to do, the first two years should be free. Community college or trade school or a tech school. Union apprenticeships are often compensated. And, I believe, masters and doctorates can also be paid for by the school as an exchange of labor (you work for the program while advancing your studies, providing value to the school in exchange for the education).