Well, I guess I'll throw in my two cents here.

I went to University straight out of High School because the only things I had ever considered wanting to do at that time required degrees. When I first showed up at Yale I thought I'd go into economics, but that quickly changed to History. I would up doing Medieval European Economic History with a secondary focus on Art History. I was extremely satisfied with my time at school and wouldn't have traded it for the world.

Following my bachelors I went straight on for doctoral study. And in regards to the comments people have made about PhD candidates often loosing sight of the rest of the world, I resembled that remark!

However I totally lost the desire to become an academic after seeing the lives of my faculty adviser and his fellow department members at Harvard. They were the biggest bunch of stuck-up snobs with bad attitudes that I'd ever met. I hated it. :x

So I left and went into what I guess qualifies as a trade - firefighting. However, even in that profession my good solid liberal arts education (with lots of other disciplines studies besides my major including sciences, mathematics, foreign languages, etc.) served me very well and I rapidly became one of the most relied upon members of the department.

And now I make stained glass, another profession that required an apprenticeship. But all my studies continue to help me because I am much better able to communicate with my customers and guide them through the design process than many of my competitors. I also understand the basic science behind what we do much better which helps me make improvements others have not even considered.

If you have even the slightest inkling of taking up a profession that requires University, I say go for it. Even if you wind up in a trade later, that education will still be helpful for you in the long run.

BTW, I have a friend who graduated with me from Yale and he now works as a carpenter! He's extremely satisfied with his life and doesn't regret having gotten a degree.