this is a rather stupid degree that doesn't really get you ready for the work force in any way
I think the worst effect of going to college for any reason is that it can funnel us into a trap that lasts for a lifetime.
My degree, and an MA to boot, was in Mathematics, talk about useless. It was fun, I was passionate about it.
My career, however, was in feeding people - I had way more friends doing this than I did holed up thinking with other math nerds. Most of my employment has been in the kitchens of food businesses of various kinds. Foodies are very passionate about food! I got my training while earning out in the real world, opened my own businesses, and was able to retire in my mid-fifties. Not rich, but rich enough. Had I pursued math, I'd still be teaching math in a college somewhere, a totally different person!
My family did not support my leaving higher education to feed people. I was in my forties, married, kids, owned a lovely brownstone and was queen of a little food hill before my father finally stopped telling me to get a real job.
But college wasn't a waste of my time! Understanding the abstract in infinite dimensions is the closest I have ever come to the divine. I credit my experience of math with my ability to see that there is more than meets the eye.
I actually knew more about the topic matter than the teachers did - which is something I find completely unacceptable.
We are all trapped by this educational system. The nature of the individual determines whether college is a waste of time for them or not.
This is great that you would share this. I knew a guy who went to college for Chemistry. This is an extremely difficult field that many people do through in order to perhaps pursue medicine. When he graduated he found that there really aren't many jobs for people with an undergrad in chemistry, so he was forced to do his masters, it was about halfway through his masters that he got a job in a kitchen at a rather fancy restaurant and accidentally found out that his true passion was also in the kitchen. He is now an executive chef at a ski resort and absolutely loves what he does for a living.
I'm sure his chemistry education is helpful for his cooking. Anything you pursue, really pursue, will shape how you go forward into any other endeavor. We have to be open to new experiences, and to not do anything just because someone else thinks it's a good idea. I'm happy for your chef friend. Feeding people can be so rewarding.