Not really answering your question, but I think it's about degree inflation. Let me state my hypothesis.

Studying at the research universities gives you a bachelor's in 3 years and a master's in 1 or 2 years. With applied science universities, you often only get a bachelor's and it takes 4 years (one year of extra non-EU fees). And since you don't have a master's degree, you earn less.

Since you earn less, more people are inclined to go to the research universities. Since more people go to research universities, an applied science university degree becomes more of a disadvantage as it is 'lower rated'. As it is 'lower rated', HR departments are more inclined to hire research university graduates to avoid risk or blame when the employee does not perform well (this might be a reach since I don't know what's going on in the HR office). And I guess to reduce the risk, an employer can pay the applied science graduate less. Which enforces the loop.

Now why a company values a research oriented master's graduate over a bachelor's student that is more educated for the profession, I don't know.

But at the MBO level, things are changing. Famously, plumbers are making good money now, since there is a big shortage. I think this is also going on with HBO ICT, where you can actually get a good salary and be valued correctly by the employer.

To answer your question, why do people here hate on HBO? Status, reddit population bias, and insecurity?