As a retired teacher, I always believed a college diploma was a golden ticket to opportunity. So when I read that over one-third of people now feel their college degree was “a waste of money,” I was taken aback.
Part of me – the educator – bristled in defense of higher education. Another part, the grandmother and mentor in me, sighed in empathy.
Why do so many bright young graduates feel shortchanged, and are they right to question the value of that hard-earned diploma?
Let’s explore this together.
The growing chorus of degree regrets
In recent surveys, a surprisingly high number of graduates have voiced regrets about their college education.
A study by Indeed found that 36% of workers “expressed regret over their education investment”. That’s more than one in three – a chorus of disillusionment that would have been unthinkable when I began my teaching career decades ago.
And the sentiment is even stronger among the young: over half of Gen Z graduates (about 51%) and 41% of millennial graduates say their degree isn’t relevant to their job. By contrast, only 20% of baby boomers share that regret. I’d say this generational divide speaks volumes.
As an educator who encouraged countless students (including my own sons) to pursue college, I find these numbers both alarming and poignant.
In my day, a college degree was assumed to be a smart investment, almost a guarantee of a better career. I recall telling my students stories of how my modest scholarship and part-time job almost paid for my tuition – which, back then, cost about as much as a semester’s textbooks do now.
How times have changed! Today’s graduates often leave campus with hefty debt and enter an uncertain job market. It’s no wonder some look at that framed diploma on the wall and wonder if it was worth the sticker price.
When diploma dreams meet reality
For many young people, the dream of college crashes into a tougher reality after graduation.
One major factor is student debt, and it’s no surprise – college costs have ballooned dramatically, with public university tuition jumping 62% from 2009 to 2019, according to one analysis.
I’ve seen this firsthand, too: one of my book club friends has a daughter who graduated with a five-figure loan debt. Despite landing a job, she confessed over coffee that she feels “cheated” by the whole experience.
Those hefty loan payments can make even a decent starting salary feel disappointing. In fact, nearly 43% of grads with college debt have turned down a job offer because the pay was too low to cover their loans.
Imagine spending four years studying, only to find your dream job doesn’t even pay enough to live on and service your debt. It’s a recipe for frustration.
Another reality check is that a degree no longer guarantees a job in your field – or even a “college-level” job at all. Some research suggests that over half of recent graduates (52%) end up underemployed in their first year out of school, working in jobs that don’t require a degree, and even a decade later, about 45% are still in that boat.
This means a lot of young adults are in roles they could have gotten without spending four years and tens of thousands of dollars (or more!) on college.
Then there’s what we might call the expectation game. Many of my students told me they would go to college because they felt they had to – that it was the only path to a “good job”.
The Indeed survey backs this up: 52% of graduates said they wouldn’t have attended college if a degree hadn’t been a requirement for so many jobs.
I suppose they enrolled with the expectation that a diploma = a decent career. So when reality doesn’t match that promise – say, when they’re stuck in unpaid internships or low-paying entry roles – disappointment and regret hit hard.
I can’t help but think back to my own sons’ experiences.
My older son followed a traditional path: business degree, then an MBA, and he’s now comfortable in a finance career. My younger son, however, struggled in college and left after two years. That was a tough period for us – I worried endlessly. But he found his footing through a coding bootcamp and is now a software developer.
Two different paths, two very different educational experiences. Both of my boys are doing well today, but seeing my younger son thrive outside the college system opened my eyes. It showed me that success doesn’t wear a one-size-fits-all cap and gown. For some, college may feel like a detour rather than a direct route.
A shifting job landscape: skills over degrees
If a college degree’s value is being questioned, it’s happening in the context of a rapidly changing job landscape. The world of work my generation entered was comparatively steady; today’s world is anything but.
A quick scan of the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 will tell you that technology – especially AI and automation, is transforming jobs at an unprecedented pace.
Some data even suggests that by 2030, 44% of all workers will need reskilling or upskilling to keep up with the demands of new roles. New industries are emerging while some old ones shrink.
In short, the ground beneath our graduates’ feet is shifting, and quickly.
One major change is the growing emphasis on skills-first hiring. More and more employers are saying, “Show me what you can do,” rather than “Show me your diploma.”
In fact, an analysis of hiring trends notes that companies increasingly prioritize practical experience and skills over formal degrees when evaluating candidates. As a result, a majority of U.S. job postings on Indeed no longer specify a college degree at all!
This shift reflects something I’ve been hearing from young adults: many feel they learned more from internships, online tutorials, or hands-on projects than from lecture halls.
We also have to talk about AI (artificial intelligence) – the new kid on the block that’s shaking things up.
Not long ago, I attended a community talk on AI’s impact and heard a recent grad lament that the programming skills he learned in college were outdated just a couple years later because of new AI tools.
He’s not alone, either. According to the Indeed survey, 30% of graduates say that AI has made their degree less relevant, and this jumps to 45% among Gen Z respondents.
I don’t know about you, but I find that astounding: nearly half of young graduates feel technology is racing ahead so fast that their education can’t keep up.
All this tells me that the path from entry-level to success is no longer straight upward – it zigs and zags.
Lessons beyond the classroom
With so much focus on the cost and career payoff of college, it’s easy to overlook the less tangible benefits of higher education.
Yes, a degree is supposed to lead to a job – but it also can enrich a person’s life in other ways. I’ve seen students transform during those college years in ways that are hard to put a price tag on. They discover passions, build confidence, and learn to navigate life on their own.
In fact, despite all the regrets we’ve discussed, a majority of graduates (a whopping 79%) say they did gain valuable, real-world skills in college that have helped them in their jobs and lives.
That’s important. It means that even if the piece of paper feels overpriced, the experience still gave most people something real – whether it’s critical thinking, writing ability, teamwork, or simply the resilience of juggling deadlines and dorm life.
I think of one of my former English students, who struggled through a tough freshman year in college. He often called me, his old high school teacher, for advice.
He considered dropping out, feeling the coursework wasn’t useful for his goal of running a business someday. I encouraged him to stick it out a bit longer. He ended up joining a student entrepreneurship club, which wasn’t a class but gave him a chance to actually pitch ideas and start a small venture with classmates.
That experience lit a fire in him. He told me later that that club – and the networking and soft skills he picked up there – was the most valuable part of college for him. He did graduate (in economics, not something directly “practical” like accounting), but ironically, it was the intangibles – leadership, perseverance, networking – that made it worth it.
Today, he runs a successful startup. Would he say his degree was worth it? Maybe not in the obvious way. But ask him if the college years were worth it, and I suspect you’d get a yes.
My point?
Even for those who don’t directly use their major, college can broaden horizons. Studying literature taught me empathy and curiosity; my roommate’s chemistry labs taught her patience and precision (even though she became a realtor, not a chemist). Surely this hasn’t changed even if the price has?
Bridging the gap
So, are young people right to feel their degree was a waste of money? In my humble opinion, yes and no.
They are right to question the value they got, especially if they’re saddled with debt or working in jobs that didn’t require a degree. Their frustration is a signal that something in our system is out of balance – be it the skyrocketing costs, the mismatch between academic curricula and real-world skills, or the myth that a college degree alone is a ticket to success.
As a society, we need to listen to these voices. As the Global Director of Brand & Advertising at Indeed has noted, “when this many workers believe they could do their job just as well without a degree, it should be a wake-up call for employers”. I would add, it should be a wake-up call for education systems, too.
Perhaps colleges should integrate more career readiness, and employers should continue re-evaluating rigid degree requirements, focusing instead on competencies.
On the other hand, I’d argue it’s not so simple as saying college is a waste across the board. Education has a way of paying off in life, just sometimes in unpredictable ways.
Maybe your degree didn’t land you a job, but a class project ignited a passion that shapes your career later. Maybe the subject you studied isn’t hiring, but the analytical or writing skills you honed are helping you pivot to a different field.
One of my previous DM News posts touched on the idea that learning never truly ends at graduation – and I firmly believe that. A college degree should be seen as one chapter in a lifelong learning story, not the final verdict on one’s success.
As a grandmother now, I also think about the example we set for the next generation (like my three spirited grandchildren who will one day make their own choices about college).
I talk with my eldest granddaughter about what she hopes to gain from college beyond just a diploma – personal growth, friends, exposure to new ideas. We also talk frankly about costs and alternatives. My hope is that by the time she stands with a diploma in hand, she’ll feel it was worth it in ways that go beyond a paycheck. And if not, I hope she has the courage and support to carve a new path.
In the end, a college degree is a tool, not a magic ticket. It’s okay to question its value – that’s not being ungrateful or “entitled,” it’s being realistic in a changing world. But I encourage young folks not to lose sight of the value of learning itself, wherever it happens.
If you feel your degree was a letdown, ask: What did I learn, and how else can I learn what I need now? Your education can continue in grad school, in a workshop, on the job, or even through a mentor or a book.
The debate on whether college is “worth it” will likely continue, but one thing is certain: learning is worth it, in one form or another.
Was my degree worth it? Was yours? The answer may evolve over time. The more important question might be, how will you make your education – whether formal or informal – truly count?
