Each to their own skills. Some people are just not academically inclined.

Many years ago, I worked in Selfridges one Christmas, where I met a young man (OK, I had a serious crush on him!), who had left school at 16 and had gone straight into the workplace. By his early 20's he was already a department manager at Selfridges, with ambitions - quite reasonably expected to be fulfilled - to be a buyer within just a couple of years. I was in awe of him - his head start in getting real world experience meant that he was streets ahead in any number of ways.

Conversely, I know people who have studied for years to achieve qualifications, who are relegated to the most menial of jobs, because the qualifications are just that - paper - and they don't have any idea how those relate to the real world of business.

Not all jobs need academic qualifications, and in some cases experience (and natural talent) outweighs any amount of paper qualifications.