The Knowledge Economy Was a Mistake

That said, the wage premium of a college degree has decreased but it is still in the 70-80% range [0]

The issue is the wage premium has racialized because Hispanic, Black, and even White Americans are less likely to major in fields where the wage premium is pronounced (think STEM) [0], but even then it's a wage premium of 60-70% versus 130%:

"The college wage gap is also somewhat larger for Black workers than for Hispanic and White workers, although the premiums for those groups have largely converged in recent years. The higher college premium for Asian workers likely reflects differences in their choice of college majors, attainment of post-graduate degrees, and subsequent occupations"

If you majored in sociology but didn't try to upskill into a STEM (you don't really need a CS degree to become a SWE), a STEM adjacent field or support role, or a business services field like accounting or actuary, then you weren't able to take advantage of the wage premium which was a result of higher margins in STEM versus non-STEM fields.

Even manufacturing fields today require some tertiary STEM knowledge and education today. Those guys and gals assembling iPhones in India and China today tend to have STEM bachelors degrees as well (they're called Graduate Engineering Trainees).

[0] - https://www.frbsf.org/research-and-insights/publications/eco...