> What's today's trends with people going for advanced or professional degrees?

The vast majority don't actually make it through to graduation. In a 6 year period , something like 12-20% graduate for a 4 year degree depending on how they've (the college) decided to measure. Metrics aren't tracked to determine how much repeatability happened. That, for the most part is for those who can afford to go to school full time indefinitely which in Today's dollars amounts to roughly $15,000 per 6 months living expenses (if your smart without including books and tuition costs).

Most degrees have general education that act as weed out classes that are designed and structured to fail. Core Physics in Engineering, Economics/Anthro in Business.

Many classes also misrepresent the time commitment needed to succeed in the class. I've seen some 3-unit classes that have so many assignments that you had to spend 28 hours a week just completing them. In a 12 unit full-time load you would need to be able to put in 68+ hours a week for 16 weeks with just one of those classes. Sometimes you get two. Normally a 3-unit class should never require more than 9 hours of coursework a week but that rarely happens consistently.

Older people going back to school would find themselves having to go to the emergency room if they had any stress related medical conditions with that kind of work load.

Physics has the 3 question two test, where each question depends on the previous question's correct answer. You can only get the last problem wrong on either of those tests to pass. Its perfection or nothing.

Economics is plagued with non-deterministic answers in their testing methodology for at least 30% of the questions for any course using Pearson resources (almost all use them). The reading material doesn't match the tested material, and you have to choose which answer is correct among 3 or 4 correct answers. By choose I mean guess because that's what it is without determinism properties which these lack but the professor and school lack rigor in applying it to coursework.

I'm largely self-taught after failing college coursework for nearly two decades. Self taught through MIT's OCW and I do IT System's Administration/engineer responsibilities, no degree. Systems and Signals was probably one of the most important OCW courses I took (where they discuss these properties rigorously). I've completed up past Calc 3 into DiffEQ/Linear Algebra, I couldn't pass the physics because they inconsistently handle rounding rules on those causality spiraled tests. I gave up after try/fail #9 (not the same professor/college) where I got the only perfect at the college for the bundled lab portion/project which was pooled among all physics courses at that college, but not the three question test. The project was designing an egg drop that survives a 4 story drop with set materials from a pool of materials divied up exclusively between teams, I took the lead and we did it with a plastic bag, paper, and water. Escalating the academic dishonesty issues (students selling previous tests in the class to other students loudly with the teacher turning a blind eye), resulted in no action because the teacher had seniority over the Dean (straight from the Dean's mouth).

Organic Chem is often one as well. Many of these course sections have an 8% pass rate or worse.

Systemic issues reported get ignored, the escalation path is professor -> chair -> dean -> board of trustees. All teachers, all with the bureacratic mindset that doing any action will affect their standing so its better to do nothing at all in anything but clear cut fraud. Paying a teacher to teach, and then having them refer you to Khan Academy videos, not teach (no lecture), and autograde/refuse to correct issues on tests where material tested didn't match course materials; isn't fraud in their mind. Incidentally, they also don't consider revoking access to digital materials you purchased through a specific date, which are LMS locked, without any refund, fraud either after you withdraw. There's no requirement for investigatory action upon report and these people are all co-workers who are in it together.

There's a lot of fraud involved with colleges and they largely have blanket legal protection. Unless you go to school outside the US you are faced with this, and predatory loans that can't be discharged in bankruptcy or cases of outright fraud. ITT tech happened in early 2000s, it was clearly fraud, and they only recently reached a settlement in 2022 to discharge the existing debt (but not refund interest payments).

While that agreement was reached, I personally haven't heard from anyone involved in that actually completing the process for the discharge. Last I heard you had to submit additional paperwork that had to be just right which was error prone and stalling tactics. I've a few friends from HS where they went that route and regretted it. They are in their 40s now, not a homeowner, no kids, no wife, critically stunted from overbearing debt imo.

The only other alternative for qualifications is professional certifications, and the same companies are involved with the same fraudulent practices. Extract as much money as possible, have government contracts for blanket legal protection, eliminate due process. Its rapidly becoming an unlivable world where you can't get ahead unless you were born wealthy or steal it.

Most of us are raised from a young age to not steal, the existing environment encourages those who steal and get away with it, at the expense of those that follow ethics, morals and rules. Cheating and academic dishonesty is rampant because fraud & corruption is endemic to the system.

Employers use the claim that you aren't qualified even when you are, simply because you don't have a certification or degree. I've turned down many job offers because they wanted me to come work for them at half-off for work I've a decade of experience at. Imagine what people who have no experience and no college have to deal with.

Edit: Clarification