My partner was an adult returning student. He transferred to UC Berkeley and got a BSME and MSME. He was hired straight out of school as a product design engineer at a major tech company. His first year salary is 150K + 10K bonus + 40K RSU, so from a financial stand point he is started off very sucessfully.

His education prepared him for abstract and theoretical thinking, but far less so for practical skills. His analysis and creativity surprises people on his team (in a good way), but stuff like his CAD skills are abysmal and he works very slowly because he has to learn as he goes.

He loved his theoretical education because it was interesting and challenging and he feels prepared to think through almost any problem, but he would have preferred more practical hands on skills.