I think there’s a significant amount of people between “not conscientious and intelligent enough for self-study” and “conscientious and intelligent enough that no degree is needed”.
For example, there are really interesting jobs I can’t get because I don’t have a business degree nor a US work permit. I’m qualified enough for those jobs, and I’m pretty sure I’d do better self-studying, but I need a degree to prove it to the US government. I might become successful enough to get some other visas, such as by investing a lot in the US economy, but I still think there’s a lot of people in this middle ground.
I think there’s a significant amount of people between “not conscientious and intelligent enough for self-study” and “conscientious and intelligent enough that no degree is needed”.
For example, there are really interesting jobs I can’t get because I don’t have a business degree nor a US work permit. I’m qualified enough for those jobs, and I’m pretty sure I’d do better self-studying, but I need a degree to prove it to the US government. I might become successful enough to get some other visas, such as by investing a lot in the US economy, but I still think there’s a lot of people in this middle ground.