Joseph, the Mishpacha article recently on Rabbi Moshe Chait mentioned that the Slabodka kollel was for 5 years. Unless you bring me a source that explicitly says otherwise, 5 years it is.
Joseph, how many of the jobs you mentioned are the type of job a Ben Torah could go into without a good knowledge of English or a high school degree? College may be unnecessary, but a proper command of the English language is imperative. Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz from project YES wrote a column a few months ago about someone who tries to hire frum people exclusively. His exam- they have to write a paragraph about themselves. he rejects 80% of his frum applicants. I’m not talking about spelling and using “syzygy” in a sentence, or even something akin to your rhetorically deft use of the word “whilst” to subtly imply that a college degree is an archaic quest. I’m talking about a basic English vocabulary and understanding of sentence structure. Furthermore, many of the jobs you mention do require training, even if not a 4 year degree. Finally, they all require some kind of entrance exam. The jobs are not just about saying “You want fries with that?”.
Nice rhetorical flourish using the word “whilst” with the mention of a college degree, by the way.