I earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science consecutively and was very proud of it. I worked in the field until the age of 33, when I married my husband, whom I met the year prior during the pandemic, and decided to stop working to focus on being a trophy wife full-time. I’m currently considering getting a PhD, since I have a lot of time on my hands, to complete the academic “trifecta”.
A couple years of university in engineering then co outer science, dropped out due to a combination of stress and financial issues. Worked since then at menial jobs and up to a decent position in software development and learned a lot more through job experience than in an educational setting.
That isn’t to knock dedicated educational institutions, but that learning can and does happen outside of those settings too. Would have preferred to finish the degree, but at this point it would be a lot of money to have a piece of paper that HR checks off a list.