[PEN-TEST] Education. Formal or not?

[ph00dy <ph00dy () COVESOFT NET>]

I apologize if this is inappropriate, but I have no other qualified party to
address this to.

        Both myself and others that I know are in a bit of a dilemma . I'm a
younger member of the information security community. I am working as a
security administrator and attending college nearly full time. While at
school I learn nothing about what I am interested in. Sure we do have
programming and networking classes, but it is all very behind what is going
on right now. Most of my time is spent correcting the teacher with "that was
3 years ago" or "read this book and you'll see what I'm talking about". On
the whole I am wondering if it is actually inhibiting me from learning more
important and valuable things. While at home and at work I am able to stay
on top of what is going on now and advance my knowledge. This practice of
learning important and pertinent information is heavily bogged down by the
work load caused by the inferior curriculum of college. Meanwhile my
non-college attending peers are advancing faster than I can due to their
lack of time restrictions. So I decided to ask you, the more seasoned
members of infosec community what your thoughts and experiences are
concerning this matter.

My questions are:

1.Is college a waste of time for pen-test/auditing/risk assessment
professionals?
2.If so how does one prove what they know to a perspective employer?
3.What is the practical value of a college degree in our field? What about
in the long run?

Thanks in advance..
Phoodrow Wilson.