I got a bachelor's degree in graphic design. But I graduated in the thick of the economic downturn in 2009

. I had a lot of interviews back then, but employers back then looked at me like

, "why should we hire YOU and not dude with 20 years experience willing to work for an entry level salary".

Not only that but most "entry level" graphic design jobs require 2-5 years full-time experience. But a lot of industries are like that.
I was the only one of my brothers and sisters to graduate college and get a degree. But by the time I graduated from college it was a hardcore recession and I was a hardcore alcoholic but not ready to admit it yet

. I've gotten sober since and I just got offered a decent warehouse gig after being unemployed for seven months. I got offered a warehouse job because 90% of my work experience is warehouse work. I really hate warehouse work, but not a whole lot of industries are willing to take a chance on you when you have no experience unless you know someone or you're white.
I think college nowadays is just another facet of the "everybody gets a trophy" mentality of Generation Y. Literally, anyone with a modicum of patience can get a college degree. College is the new high school. It's a billion dollar industry. The once tiny community college I attended back in the early 2000's has exploded since and now is a massive campus because everyone and their mother goes to college these days. Back in the day, only the ultra smart and the ultra rich attended college. And those are the only people who truly still benefit from going to college. Unless you live somewhere like the DC area where someone with an African American studies degree can get a job making well over $100K because of minority gov't quotas.
Those of us who grew up in the 90's bought into the whole "go to school, go to school, you don't want to be in these streets" message peddled by people like 2pac; people who never actually went to college their damn selves

. And who can blame them, the streets were a fukked up place back in the 90's as they are today.
But the problem is that America made it shameful to work your way up from a low prestige job. People are like "go to college so you don't have to work at McDonald's". But at least McDonald's is work experience. No one is going to hire someone with no work experience. College doesn't teach life skills point blank. The "college experience" of getting drunk everyday for four plus years will take it's toll on you. I didn't want to end up like my lazy jobless drunk uncles until I became a jobless drunk uncle myself

. That was the case with me. A lot of the homeless people you see in the street just made a few bad decisions that spiraled over time.
A lot of life is a gamble. You can never tell what tomorrow brings let alone the next five or ten years. I never thought I would graduate into a recession and not be able to find a job in my field. But most people don't work in the field that they studied in college. College never guarantees any type of career success. You'd be surprise to learn many of your favorite rappers hold bachelor's degrees.