Probably unpopular, but I really like Studio One. Reaper is more powerful, and I love it too, but there's something about Studio One that just let me wrap my brain around it the first time I used it. For me, it's great for quick and dirty production which is a lot of what I do and "just works" with my interface and mixing console.
Of course that's not the case for everyone and a lot of folks want and need something with more to it.
Agree entirely.
I am in my 40s, have two bachelor's degrees, got my second SPECIFICALLY in my field, have changed job directions half a dozen times within my field (because money talks), and have used nothing from college that I couldn't get in a month long certification program.
I've gotten way more out of getting the respected industry specific certs than I did in more than half a decade of school.
I've gotten a thousand times more skills from learning on the job from colleagues and working managers than college and certifications together.