[xyzelement]

// The purpose of a college degree is NOT a job

I think we are past the age where the folks who went to higher education were scholars in pursuit of some higher truth and a broad elevation of themselves. The percentage of people who care about that is very low.

As college became "a universal must." Nearly 40 percent of US adults have a bachelor's degree or higher, and obviously 40% of any population aren't inherently scholars.

So yes college today is primarily either "something people just do" (I believe this is the attitude that leads to proliferation of obvious worthless degrees) or at best "a way to get a better job."

An obvious internet-era reality is that a true scholar can find access to knowledge and like-minded peers outside the universe much more easily.

[ozim]

Really not fun part is that loads of office jobs can be done with high school education level where companies require a degree.

I guess it is because there are not enough office jobs and not enough masters/bachelors level jobs so we are all at rat race.

[nradov]

Right, economists describe this as a signaling mechanism. Most regular office jobs don't require skills beyond the high school level. But a college degree signals to employers that the candidate has some discipline and ability to complete tasks. That allows employers to cut down the candidate pool to a manageable size and somewhat reduce the risk of a bad hire. When labor demand is high, employers are quick to eliminate college degree requirements in order to fill critical roles.

[ozim]

Big corporations or decent companies are not quick to drop requirements.

Sweatshops or „Joe Shmuck” companies that will make you swipe floors after you finish filling in TPS reports are quick to drop requirements.

[red-iron-pine]

high school education is highly variant and, at least in the US, based entirely on funding from local property taxes; the quality varies greatly

universities are generally funded by other methods, and usually have real or practical minimums in terms of GPA and SAT/ACT requirements

put another way, someone coming out of Big State U may not be a superstar, but I can generally rule out the dumb-dumbs