I agree that there are better signals. As I said, the college degree is just the easiest one for employers to use. I think there probably will be a shift towards tech style interviews in other fields, but until they figure that out the degree is an important aspect of deciding who is able to be successful.
>I've personally seen a large number of people with at least one degree fall apart under the real pressure
There are of course false positive/negatives with every heuristic, I don't think that makes them worthless.
> people who go to college at all are more likely to be from well off families and have educated parents.
The studies on how a diploma effects future earnings obviously controlled for that, as well as many other things. You can go ahead and check the studies, they're pretty thorough. College is a great investment for many, even if it is much easier for the wealthy to obtain.
>I've personally seen a large number of people with at least one degree fall apart under the real pressure
There are of course false positive/negatives with every heuristic, I don't think that makes them worthless.
> people who go to college at all are more likely to be from well off families and have educated parents.
The studies on how a diploma effects future earnings obviously controlled for that, as well as many other things. You can go ahead and check the studies, they're pretty thorough. College is a great investment for many, even if it is much easier for the wealthy to obtain.