I went to an engineering school for college -- an Institute of Technology.  The majors they offered were engineering, science, or math.  I took a few mandatory electives, like English literature and whatnot.  I even had a few fun classes on psychology and philosophy, which were a nice little break from calculus and physics.  At the time I viewed college essentially as job training.  Teach me the skills I'll need to get a job in an industry.  And that's what it did.  I remember talking to some friends who went to normal colleges and took esoteric classes on the history of religion and things like that which served no purpose per se, but introduced some far out ideas that were perhaps worth considering.  I thought that sounded dumb. 

Now that I'm a little older, I sometimes find myself wishing I had a broader understanding of general topics of interest that normal people learn in normal colleges.  I sort of wish I could get a condensed liberal arts education in like a week long video course.  Ya know, art history, comparative literature, women's studies.  Things that don't serve an immediate purpose, but are just good things to know at least a little about.  There's value in knowing things, not necessarily monetary value and not necessarily immediate, but still. 

Related:  Economics vs. knowledge #education