Comment by silexia
A lot of this may be due to the recent far left changes in curriculum at many universities. A degree used to sort of a certificate an employer could rely upon that someone had basic skills. That is no longer the case. This makes older employees where the certificate was still reliable more attractive.
Irrelevant.
I went to a very bottom-tier school with a piss-poor reputation (but no debt!).
That didn’t stop me from getting employed, because employees were looking for workers when I started my employment journey.