Well it is true for most of the cases because the more you know the better you will be able to perform. But in general you cannot neglect the Experience and social understanding.

People want to climb up the social ladder as high as they can get to. They see education as a path to get there. Less people see education as a means for which they can better their skills to help people. There needs to be more people who want education not for more money in the future, but for self-development and learning the skills needed to make a larger and more positive contribution to society.

I think the main reason for this is because we tend to look for an easy way out. Of course not everyone is like that 24/7, but there's no denying many of us tend to scan for more convenient methods to get what we want. One of those; becoming the rich guy we see on TV or some other form of media. For many of us the most convenient way to do that is to get another degree, mainly because by this point we're familiar with how schools or universities work. Just an idea I had. Feel free to retort or make a counterpoint. :)

Statistically, studies have shown the higher degree of education one achieves, the higher the average salary they can attain. Currently, the job sector is over-saturated with undergraduate degrees. A bachelors in engineering doesn't take you very far anymore. However, the educational and employment landscape is changing rapidly. Employers are creating better means to discover talented people, talented people that may not necessarily have a degree, or piece of paper certifying that they are at some base level of competency. Additionally, major (and highly respected institutions) are contributing to what is being called MOOC, major online open coursware. Stanford has engineering courses online, MIT has their Opencourseware..harvard...carnagie melon, Georgia Tech etc etc. (https://www.edx.org/school/mitx/allcourses) There's a really interesting talk about this on a public radio program called intelligence squared: http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/550-too-many-kids-go-to-college-our-first-%20debate-in-chicago One of the speakers arguing against higher education is a man named Peter Thiel, one of the most respected and successful tech entrepreneurs today. He makes some compelling arguments!

Very basically, such is true, due to the fact that professions requiring high level knowledge, require advanced education, which comes at a high price. Something else to consider is how education allows a person to achieve a high level position that comes with the "price" of extreme responsibility and stress. Is it worth it? Now, current reality, is that the job market in the United States does not have many positions available, which means currently, many college graduates are settling for extremely low level paying jobs, and jobs that even do not require a college education. Add to that, the fact that companies fire or lay-off experienced and higher paid employees, in order to save money. Again, I ask, is it worth it?