If those students were bright, curious and self-directed, they still wouldn’t need degrees for many positions.
But we have a sadly ignorant, shiftless, and not very intelligent generation upon us. Four years of “training” might make them marginally more employable.
Are you a college professor? I ask because it sounds like you might be speaking from personal experience with college students.
SNL - Common Knowledge
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0HGEZXTy8Y
I imagine it’s gotten much worse since this skit was on SNL