For many students, acquiring a diploma is not only a measure of scholastic success but also an important step toward employment and economic stability. Yet, as higher education increases its pace, the expectation that achievement of a diploma will automatically lead to a job grows more and more out of touch with reality. With easier access to universities, degrees become the bare minimum as the job market becomes selective.
Therefore, the assumption that a diploma is a passport to work is an unrealistic one. Upon graduation, students face a job market that values a degree only as an initial step or a sorting device, not as evidence of the attainment of certain standards. This gap between qualifications for study and job availability causes graduates to be widely disillusioned, raising fundamental issues around the purposes and promises of higher education.
When Everyone Has a Degree: Diminishing Marginal Utility
The rapid spread of higher education globally has undeniably reshaped the perceived value of a degree. Once restricted to a select group within society, degrees have increasingly become openly available, made possible through public funding, new private schools, online learning networks, and foreign educational programs. While the spread of education is positive in many ways, it simultaneously means that a degree no longer signals elite status; instead, it places the applicant within the typical applicant pool.
Data from UNESCO indicates that the number of people graduating from higher education programs across the world doubled over the last two decades. In many fields, a bachelor’s degree is now not considered an exceptional achievement but rather the standard expectation. The greater the number of students who acquire equivalent qualifications, the less valuable a degree is as a sorting device.
This shift has created a deep contrast between student aspirations and the current economic reality. Many students approach higher education with the assumption—sometimes fostered by family, school, or popular narratives—that earning a degree ensures entry into a stable career. In current environments, however, a degree is often a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for work. The disillusionment is especially likely to happen for those who have performed well academically but find themselves underemployed or excluded from their fields. Compounded by student loan debt and a saturated job market, this emotional crisis deepens political controversy and backlash towards the administration and the economy. The previous promise of upward mobility through education now seems tenuous.
Identity Frameworks and Signal Distortion
The growing realization that not all degrees signal qualitative effort or merit adds to the complexity. As DEI initiatives, expanded admissions, and representational policies reshape access to higher education, some students and employers can be concerned that diplomas are becoming harder to interpret. This isn’t due to the presence of underrepresented groups, but rather the concern that admission and graduation standards are increasingly governed by quotas instead of consistent academic evaluation. When the value of a diploma becomes entangled with identity-based frameworks, its role as a clear market signal is blurred. Under these circumstances, even competitive and achieving students may feel the need to “prove” that their qualifications reflect ability, not affiliation.
The imbalance is fueled by the overproduction of some fields of study—what economists might refer to as malinvestment—as higher education continually graduates students without a prominent increase in job opportunities. Political science, sociology, or specialized business program degrees often lead to job markets with a lack of entry-level jobs. Many students feel they have been misled—committing years of their time earning their higher education degrees under the assumption that it would lead to jobs, only to face a reality of unpaid internships, freelance work, or jobs that have nothing to do with their field of study after graduation. In this scenario, the idea of social mobility through education can turn out to be an illusion, generating not only job dissatisfaction but also a sense of betrayal that transcends the job market into the political sphere.
From Credentials to Capabilities: Reclaiming Individual Value
The changing global landscape leads students into internships, personal projects, and online portfolios, viewing these activities as essential differentiators, not supplemental benefits. In fields like media, technology, and public policy, a strong personal brand—supplemented by publications, networking—has become a better measure of one’s value than a standard academic record. Students who fail to adjust to this new landscape face the risk of marginalization, regardless of their formal credentials. This indicates a shift for the role of education: from a measure of ability to being simply a minimum requirement, as real credibility is mostly determined outside of institutional walls.
The gap between educational attainment and the harsh realities of work often goes into wider political debate. Disappointed graduates who struggle with substantial debts for diplomas that are poorly-rewarded in the job market can feel like policymakers and educators betrayed them by exaggerating the value of formal education. Thus, systematic failure stories emerge, calling for political action to forgive student loans, improvements to job security, or a wider cynicism concerning higher education as an established institution. If an entire generation sees itself as too qualified while experiencing underemployment, the legitimacy of both the education system and the job market is challenged.
What students must do is to embrace a mindset of proactive differentiation. This means capitalizing on opportunities that go beyond standard academic coursework, like networking, internships, independent research projects, or leadership within their respective studies. Such pursuits not only support the possession of practical competencies but also create stronger signals to future employers of one’s initiative. More than depending on the prestige of institutions or degree titles, students should see their time in higher education as a space for experimentation, calculated networking, and contribution to the public sphere. The real gain for students lies in what output they produce and how they express their worth beyond the actual diploma.
For systems, the challenge lies in recalibrating public expectations and institutional incentives. Policymakers and academic leaders need to confront the growing mismatch between educational expansion and labor market expectation. Without structural reform, the overproduction of degrees risks devaluation of academic credentials, creating both employer skepticism and graduate disillusionment. Alternative signaling mechanisms—skills certifications, portfolio assessment, and employer-partnered education—may help restore trust and relevance. If left unaddressed, diploma inflation could worsen credential creep, separate access to competitive pathways, and erode the legitimacy of higher education.
One of the most urgent issues confronted by higher education today transcends economic or structural issues: it is a fundamental conflict between its roles both as a public good and personal investment. Students are told that their time as students is a passage, a place for intellectual growth; it is simultaneously articulated as a transaction for mobility in fields of profession. When expected success does not emerge, such internal contradiction becomes increasingly unsustainable. Colleges can no longer continue to portray themselves as repositories of knowledge or engines of upward mobility without confronting the expanding gap between promised prestige and actual outcome. Instead of resume workshops and branding schemes, this existential dilemma of significance can be answered by a cultural and institutional examination of the commitments made by universities, as well as the rewards they can deliver in an environment where scarcity no longer equals value.
Alongside the institutional and economic costs, the gap between educational investment and its benefits creates an increasingly heavy psychological burden on students. People who spend so much time and money trying to pursue higher education often suffer from disillusionment and a deep emotional exhaustion. The assumption that meritocracy—through hard work and educational credibility—allows for mobility by socioeconomic status creates a sense of failure for those who do not receive expected benefits. This psychological cost—shaped by society’s belief around meritocracy—can express itself as political distrust, emotional distress, or disengagement from civic and economic participation. Aside from simple job availability numbers, the crisis includes the degradation of motivation and purpose by a population that conformed to social expectations, only to be excluded in the end.
Rethinking the Purpose of Higher Education
In a time of unprecedented access to information, the value of a degree is experiencing a fundamental reworking. Previously considered a scarce badge of honor that opened the gate of access, it is increasingly becoming a dubious stepping stone for a highly competitive job market. But the challenge is not just economic; it is cultural as well. Students are expected not only to graduate as competent professionals but as personal brands, ideological performers, and narrative tellers. This increased expectation—alongside declining faith in the integrity of higher education—leads many to wonder whether the educational establishment is serving their purposes, or asking for more effort for fewer benefits.
For the higher education sector to uphold its reputation, it will need to redefine its purposes. This involves imposing real expectations, emphasizing actual competence rather than signal, and redefining the difference between access and actual achievement. Students need to face the challenge of assessing value outside of usual credentialing, while higher education institutions need to ensure that a degree indicates tangible achievement. Renewal of higher education does not rest with degrees being awarded in greater numbers, but with increased realism and transparency.
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