So I'm 20 and I've started looking at the salaries of jobs/careers, and this is the impression I've gotten. Like that you could spend years cramming a ton of knowledge about a very niche field, and still only get 2-3x what a run-of-the-mill job makes. Is this true? If yes then I guess this route to wealth would only make sense (due to the diminishing returns) if the topic truly spoke to you, right? Are there alternative career paths to good pay than being really good at something really specific?
Who you know, and the opportunities they afford is a game changer for career trajectory.
The big reason to pay money or get into a good school isnt that the education is of that much higher quality, its about who your friends are, and more importantly what their parents or parents friends do. You have a friend all through school and one day you are like 'i wanted to get an internship somewhere but im not sure how to go about it' and then your friend is like 'oh my mum/dads friend is a senior manager/team leader at XY good company, im sure they can find you a placement.'
But saying this, it is "who you know not what you know" until your in the job and its a matter of time until it becomes "what you know and who you know won't save you", except the rare circumstances where your working for dad in the whitehouse or something.