I think (and I think it's a good thing) that we are fast getting to the point that "Your mom goes to college" is a mainstream insult.
Between jobs that simply don't require it that also provide good, and often higher pay, than many college degrees get you, and with universities creating "everyone is a winner" environments, There's a lot to be said for skipping the institution.
This comes from someone who did crappy jobs for ten years to get the money to go to uni and grad school. I don't know that I would do it now. The science program I went through now has as it's "core mission", "Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity, and Wellness" instead of science. Seeing the focus of some of the professors, and the research areas of their current doctoral candidates, I'm hard-pressed to find "science" in there anywhere.