I just finished Shop Class as Soulcraft by Matthew B. Crawford. He explores, in both scholarly fashion and down-to-earth terms, how he came to invest himself (with very fulfilling returns) in his passion for repairing motorcycles rather than pursuing a white-color or academic career with his PhD.
The intellectual challenges demanded by his life as a hands-on repairman, the rigors of troubleshooting, the daily character-building failures at his own hands, the balancing of his prideful thirst for more motorcycle know-how with his fiduciary responsibilities as a businessman all make a compelling case for the advantages of not succumbing to the go-to-college, work-in-a cubicle/cog situation that often appears to be the pipeline we are urged to follow.
In many respects, he reminds me of Wendell Berry who writes so eloquently about living within one's means, valuing the community you work in, and investing in a local economy of neighbors.
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