One of the most interesting economic topics I learned about was the idea of specialization and comparative advantage. If you're able to develop a skill that very few can do, people will pay you a ton of money to leverage it.

For example, China is more efficient at manufacturing and has an economy and capital that lends itself to being a manufacturing machine. But the United States is much more inclined in service positions. This is one of the reasons the United States manufacturing industry has been so weak for the past decades.

Similarly, people who have specialized skills (i.e. engineers, developers, etc.) are able to sell their labor for over six figures!

It's less about going to college but college is an avenue that sets a path to learn a specialized skill.