But millennials also have access to a virtually unlimited amount of education for free right in their pocket because of the Internet.<p>Older generations didn&#x27;t have that advantage.<p>College is but one route and only required in a few select licensed fields like medical doctors, patent attorneys, etc.<p>It amazes me that millennials are still going to college even when the costs are like 10x what it was for our parents.  At some point the lost opportunity cost from all that debt outweighs any additional income they could earn from the degree.<p>You also need to factor in that someone has a 4-5 year head start if they just start working immediately and gain education in the field.<p>If you go the college route, there is 4 years, and another 4 years to pay off the debt.  Contrast that to someone who works for a lower wage but can get into a home earlier.  A home in Silicon Valley at $500K and 4% appreciation for 8 years comes out to $684 or $184K ahead than the college graduate who is now making maybe $15K more a year.<p>Also, someone with 4 years of actual work experience is not going to be that far off from someone with a college degree and no work experience.<p>After 10-15 years of working in a field nobody cares whether you have a degree or not and any income differences from college are now outweighed by personal talent and ambition.