I spent three days a week for 10 years educating myself in the public library, and it’s better than college. People should educate themselves – you can get a complete education for no money. At the end of 10 years, I had read every book in the library and I’d written a thousand stories.
~ Ray Bradbury
The inherent fallacy shows in the statement, “it’s better than college.” Bradbury has no way to know that if he didn’t go to college. What he means is that he got what he wanted without going to college. It doesn’t follow that college is wrong for everyone.
To be fair, if you want a career that requires a college degree, studying on your own — no matter how much you actually learn — won’t cut it. You need the piece of paper or HR won’t even schedule an interview. :/ I’d agree that this is a bug in our educational/certification system rather than a feature, but still, that’s how it is right now.