Most people don't have 20million to invest in and fully stock a chemistry lab to learn chemistry.
Even with courses which are heavily reading based, the implication is, that there will be some added value. You're surrounding yourself (in theory) with other bright minds which will enhance your understanding of a subject and learning from experts in the field.
Of course, at the end of the day, lots of people play the game created by the system in place. They don't value learning so much as the results it will bring them in the workplace, but that is, in many ways quite a short-sighted way to view things. In any professional job position you should never stop trying to learn, and if you learn well and faster than your peers, being more valuable than the average person in the industry will be a side-benefit.
Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 02/25/2013 10:16PM by istirith.