That's harsh, and I hope things work out for you, but there is another thing going on here - a constant treadmill of qualifications is becoming the norm in many industries. You might be doing your career harm if you isolate yourself from the main stream of academic qualifications that makes up that treadmill.
Those friends who cruised through school and have good careers, did they actually stop at a BA? Or do they have, say, accountancy qualifications? Masters degrees gained while working? Memberships of professional institutions, working towards being chartered in their profession?
Obviously I don't know the answer to that, and it varies a lot between industries - many programmers here on HN get by fine with talent and experience, and don't feel pushed to gain extra qualifications. But depending what you do, qualifications can open doors to other qualifications and over a long career it might make quite a bit of difference.
Those friends who cruised through school and have good careers, did they actually stop at a BA? Or do they have, say, accountancy qualifications? Masters degrees gained while working? Memberships of professional institutions, working towards being chartered in their profession?
Obviously I don't know the answer to that, and it varies a lot between industries - many programmers here on HN get by fine with talent and experience, and don't feel pushed to gain extra qualifications. But depending what you do, qualifications can open doors to other qualifications and over a long career it might make quite a bit of difference.