To understand why so many people are pursuing degrees (even in fields that make no sense), look up the 1971 Supreme Court decision Griggs v. Duke Power. This set in motion the excessive demand for college education as employers, denied the right to winnow out applicants via such means as IQ texts, sought a proxy. That proxy was the sheepskin. They figured that anyone who had graduated from college possessed a certain degree of intelligence.
I am sure that other factors played a role but this makes sense to me.
I might mention that one additional factor is the maturation of the baby boomer generation and their desire to send their children to college.
That should be “IQ tests.”
Thanks for citing Griggs v. Duke Power. I knew of the case and its relevance but I couldn’t name it just now.
Of course, now that college degrees mean little more than that the bearer paid a bunch of money for a sheet of paper, companies are once again bringing back “assessment tests”...ON TOP OF the degree.