The degree itself may be somewhat less potent than it once was. However, your comments about community colleges, (often fine institutions to begin a higher education for those not willing or able to live elsewhere), as well as your interpretation of obtaining one of the liberal arts degrees clearly demonstrate that one of the things about which your own education could use improvement, is education itself.

I agree that the more people that have a college degree, the less powerful it is in the job market. There is a higher education situation in the country. It's the result of the collegiate institutions not adjusting in some ways to a changing world. A degree, as a whole may also command less money now than before, because it now costs less to obtain one.

Then there is the nature of the jobs available. The onset of more efficient networking. Increased entrepreneurship...

In other words, there are many salient points that could be made about the devaluation of a 4 year degree. Each of them bringing more to the table then a simple declaration that community colleges suck, and that is requires no effort to obtain certain degrees.

The modern workplace is changing as the value of experience and education is shifting. My grandfather was an engineer, he started in the mail room of the company and worked his way up the 'corporate ladder' learning as he went. My friends dad is an engineer, he went to college for Physics and went into the work field as an Engineer. He worked his way up to a position where someone applying for his job today would need a masters degree.

When my grandfather started working a majority of the population hadn't attended college, when my friends dad started it was far more common, but not the norm. Today the B.S. degree is more common and it is fairly normal for a high school graduate to go to college after graduation. It is also normal for a company to require a B.S. degree to seek employment, and more common for a masters degree.

As it is becoming more common for applicants to have a B.S degree employers are expecting them to because these people tend to come in with more knowledge than a high school graduate or someone who has worked for two or three years.

My college adviser told me once that having a college degree only shows you are able to commit yourself to something. Your point that having a college degree doesn't set you apart the masses is completely accurate, but that is why internships and REU opportunities exist for college students. You can't expect having a degree alone to get you a job, and the fact that you have a degree shouldn't the only factor separating your from someone applying for the same job. Any student who believes that having a college degree alone is enough to get a job isn't striving for their full potential.

I do think that one of the largest atrocities enacted upon the modern day students is the idea that in order to perform any job a college diploma is needed; there are many jobs which do not require the knowledge which is developed through the quest for a B.S.. This can lead to people being in positions where they are underutilized and dissatisfied. Dissatisfied workers lead to unproductive workers. This can be seen in companies which downsize based on length of employment (newer employees are let off first instead of less valuable employees being let go first). The Atlantic published an article about this last winter.

As we as a society become smarter the difficulty of completing high school lessens, but please keep in mind that still not everyone graduates high school.