Well, I told myself I would bow out, but now I am really intriqued, by this last post.

"You were brought up in an archaic authoritarian era where everyone had to be "the same only better" than everyone else. " Huh?

I guess you are assuming that I am like 75 years old. Ever heard of the 60's and 70's, as in Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll? Hardly what I would call authoritarian, more like anti-authoritarian. It's a generational thing.
When you are 16 - 25, you know everything. The older people are screwed up and you will never end up like them. "Hey Man" and "Cool" have now become "Wazzup Dude" and "Ya Know What I'm Sayin".

Eventually, however, you will, hopefully, start to realize that some of the pleasures in life require money. You have to decide where you want to be on the economic scale. No high school diploma? Can't write a sentence? If that's the choice, then welcome to being poor. Of course there are exceptions, but generally income increases with education.

So if you are correct, and nothing really matters but who you are, then how exactly do you explain all of the things you take for granted. For instance, do you think your Mercedes was conceived and manufactured by people that couldn't do mathematics or read and write? When you stop in a McDonald's for lunch, do you think their system of running their restaurants is a just dumb luck? Did that airliner overhead just appear by magic, or did a bunch of very smart educated people accomplish that? Are you aware that many companies test applicants for mathematics and computer skills?

Some posters to this thread, have concluded that I am an arrogant holier than thou' old fart that made critical comments to feather his own nest. Remember that the guy going back to school, specifically asked for advice. I gave my honest advice. If he doesn't like the advice, it should be no big deal.
It was not personal. I'm a businessman. Business is not personal.

Finally, I can't resist explaining that I often work on the Factory floor, with people that have difficulty writing numbers,writing words, and often don't speaking very much English. Rather late in life, I taught myself database programming. I developed, and market a software application that runs manufacturing plants. I take great satisfaction in helping people overcome their fear of computers and learning how to use my system. This often means hours of handle holding ( not literally ), showing people that they can do it. After they get it, their chests sort of puff out and they are proud. There's nothing better than seeing them conquer their fear.



Steve