Education is not about any particular machine, system, skill, or job. Education is both broader and deeper than training. An education is a deep, complex, and organic representation of reality in the student's mind. It is an image of reality made of concepts, not facts. Concepts that relate to each other, reinforce each other, and illuminate each other.
Education is built up with facts, as a house is with stones.
But a collection of facts is no more an education than a heap of stones is a house. No subject is more essential nor can contribute more to becoming a liberally educated person than mathematics. Some people may understand all that I've said above but still feel a bit uneasy. After all, there are bills to pay. If mathematics is as I've described it, then perhaps it is no more helpful in establishing a career then, say, philosophy.