Every time the news is on, you hear it at least once a day. Headlines like "Gen Z feels disillusioned about degrees" and "the idea that degrees are useless is spreading" are common. In the past, it was thought that just graduating from college would secure a stable life, but now the atmosphere is completely the opposite.

The first thing you have to do after graduating from college, as everyone knows, is to deal with student loans, which is a 'lifetime match.' The monthly payments are so burdensome that it feels like you're bending over backwards, but when you actually enter the job market, you find yourself thinking, "Did I really go to college just to earn this salary?" This is why people ask in a frustrated tone, "Hey, does having a degree really mean anything?"

Especially Gen Z is refreshingly honest. More than half of them answered, "Degrees are useless" without hesitation. In the past, just having a college diploma made parents proud and society seemed to open up more easily, but nowadays, even with that diploma, it's uncertain whether the door will open or not.

Moreover, graduates with student debt tend to value their degrees even less. Among those in debt, 41% lamented, "This was a waste of money." Even among those without debt, 31% said the same, indicating that the situation has become quite serious. Some people even say, "Student loans have held back my career."

So naturally, the question arises: "So... is a degree really necessary?"

In this survey, 68% of Gen Z responded, "What I'm doing now? Honestly, I could do it without a degree." At this point, a degree has shifted from being a 'must-have' to an 'optional nice-to-have.'

The scarcity of degrees has also played a role. In the 1970s, only 10% of people graduated from college, but now it's 40%.

In the past, being a 'college graduate' elicited reactions like, "Oh, they're smart!" but now it's more like, "That's average."

And tuition keeps rising every year. Over the past 20 years, tuition has increased by 32-45%, with an average cost of $38,000 for a bachelor's degree. The total student loan debt in the U.S. is $2 trillion... just looking at the numbers makes you sigh.

Companies are also starting to catch on. More than half of job postings don't even list educational requirements.

It's no longer the atmosphere of "No degree, no application!" but rather, "Just show me if you can do the job first." This shift is why short vocational schools, online boot camps, and portfolio-based classes are becoming popular these days.

Of course, that doesn't mean college is completely meaningless. In the long run, college graduates earn higher average salaries and have lower unemployment rates than high school graduates. The problem is that the younger generation can no longer expect that "just having a degree will solve their life problems" like before.

The "degree premium" has disappeared, and student debt unnecessarily weighs down the early stages of life.

So these days, the question people are asking in the U.S. is very simple: "Will college diplomas maintain their value in the future?"

And honestly... the very fact that this question is being asked already suggests that the answer is somewhat known.