>My generation was raised on the belief that we had to go to college the same way we had to go to any other school grade.
By design. Pound that idea into our heads, make student loan debt non-dischargeable in bankruptcy, make the DOE oppose ANY bankruptcy discharge (the 70 year-old man on SSI with student loan payments, can't afford them? Too fucking bad, shouldn't have co-signed or taken them out that is not an "undue hardship") take total control over student loans, tell everyone they need to go in debt beyond the amount of a first year's salary for their desired occupation just to get the fucking job, then have 5000 graduates for every one position available. My accounting program had probably 5 open positions for 50 graduates. Doesn't take a math genius to figure out that doesn't work. Underemployment. Engineers working as bouncers. Accountants working as strippers. These aren't majors in underwater basket weaving. Debt slavery. Making 18 year olds pick a career is just a way to lock kids into the debt. Most people don't have a fuckin clue what theu wanna do for the rest of their lives. Not at 18, not at 25, not until they start doing it. Forgot to mention the university administrators lying to students about employability.
We wouldn't have this problem (or I hope not) of administrators looked psych (humanities) majors in the eye and said "You don't have a chance in hell of finding a job that'll pay off your student loans…unless you take out more loans to get a master's and a doctorate, then you MIGHT have a chance at it." Even so-called "in-demand" majors aren't actually in demand. They lie about that as well. Engineers? There's no shortage of engineers. Nurses? The nurses I know are overworked, underpaid, and there isn't a shortage. No shortage of accountants either. No shortage of anything that requires a degree. Only a shortage of shit that doesn't require one.
End the student loan program and let these diploma mills collapse. Make these worthless higher education administrators unemployed.