My father was an electrician (Air Force 8+ years on generating stations for radar installations) and worked at the trade for a couple of years. Then entered a paper mill where I also worked for a while before going back to school at the ripe age of 35. I have always tried to maintain and enhance my skills in the various trades I have picked up over the years. I am considering going for the Masters exam sometime next year.
I cannot count the many times where I encountered a problem and solved it with a trick or tip that I learned from another "unrelated" trade. Some call it thinking out of the box, but I call it the difference between knowlege and wisdom. (usually the answer to that one is pain!)
My degree in engineering taught me how to find information and use it.
Life and it's experiences teaches me how to apply it.
The people I meet and interact with teach me what a gift life is and how important it is to have an open mind. Like a parachute, it is just a burden until when needed it is opened.