If the purpose of life is to attain liberation, is there any value for all the time we spend on our education, profession and career?
Each one has its own place. You need to do both. To make a living, you need to work, and to grow on the spiritual path, you need to meditate. Both go together, they do not oppose each other.
Often, we think that only when we leave everything will we be able to meditate here, that is not the case. We see many people who have left everything and sit here, but they take up something else to occupy their mind. It is not necessary that you have to leave everything, and then meditate. If you have taken up some responsibility, fulfil it.
An absconder will never attain liberation. If you want to drop small commitments and take up a higher cause, that is fine. Don't think that those who have become saints or ascetics have run away from their materialistic life in order to gain something. No! A saint has to take up a lot of responsibility, she/he takes the responsibility of everyone, they work for the whole world. A person who runs away will not attain anything.