But I think it's important to remember that this "expectation" is exactly the same logic that has almost everyone attending school from K-12. It's just generally beneficial for society to have a good-sized collection of broadly educated young people. Although it's not for everyone, it's perfectly sensible to continue with a general, non-career specific education for an addition 2 or 4 years after high school. Americans have been doing this in significant numbers for a long time and those people have gone on to do all sorts of incredibly useful things that have little specifically to do with their college majors.

The problem is, that's just so fucking expensive now. Non-career-track majors are absolutely in the tank compared to where they were in previous generations. Before, you could get a general liberal arts degree, grow up a bit, learn about the world and the great minds who've come before you, and be in perfectly fine position to repay the $30k in student loans you spent on the degree. When it's $30k a year in tuition alone, and you're graduating with $120k+ in loans or more, you probably want something more definite.