Podcast Summary: Earn Your Leisure

Episode: Are College Degrees Becoming Worthless?
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings (and guest analysts)
Release Date: March 22, 2026

Episode Overview

In this episode, Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings tackle the seismic changes happening in the job market, particularly questioning whether the traditional college degree still holds financial and professional value in the face of artificial intelligence (AI) and widespread job disruption. The hosts explore rising unemployment, the impact of AI on white-collar and skilled labor jobs, and the shifting value of higher education. They discuss the need for new skills, alternatives to traditional career paths, and what these trends mean for individuals and the broader economy.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Current Job Market Crisis

• 104 Million Out of the Workforce:
  "It's 104 million people that are not even looking for work or not in the American job system... nearly a third who have given up on the job market all together. And I think it's definitely a sign of the times."
  — Rashad (03:04)
• Forced Into Entrepreneurship:
  Many, especially African Americans, are being "pushed out of corporate and forced into entrepreneurship purely by necessity, not by choice."
  — Rashad (03:04)
• Rising Graduate Unemployment:
  Tech leaders predict up to 30% of college graduates may not secure jobs after graduation, up from 6-7%. Layoffs at major companies are accelerating this trend.
  — Co-host (03:44)

The Impact of AI and Automation

• AI’s Disruptive Effects:
  • "The most important thing I could say is yes, we understand the importance of AI and the disruption it's going to cause, but I don't think we're paying attention to how we need to execute and using it, becoming educated by it."
    — Co-host (03:44)
  • "AI is going to really force everybody to become an entrepreneur in some way or another."
    — Co-host (05:11)

The Increasingly Unstable Value of College Degrees

• No Guaranteed Return:
  • "I don't think...there's going to be a world where you can actually just pay for education and then after you graduate, then get a job...is that education worth it? If the education does not guarantee or is not a pathway for success?"
    — Co-host (05:42)
• Financial Imbalance:
  • "To pay $400 [thousand] for undergrad...and then to make what, 60 grand and have all the debt to pay. So there definitely needs to be a restructuring."
    — Rashad (13:13)

The Future: Skills, Trades, and New Realities

• Are Plumbers the ‘New Tech Millionaires’?
  • Debate on whether skilled trades like plumbing will become the new high-income jobs.
    • "I've seen a guy from...some tech company and he said that plumbers are going to start making LeBron James money."
      — Co-host (06:55)
    • "The whole logic behind that doesn't make any sense...We always needed plumbers."
      — Co-host (07:31)
    • "Nobody's going to pay a plumber more than it costs to build a home. If that's the case, I won't even have a home."
      — Co-host (09:31)
• Skills + AI Synergy:
  • "We have to figure out what a skill is. Not so much of what we should be studying to now figure out if we can get a career in that path. What is the skill that we have? How do we converge that skill with artificial intelligence to get ahead?"
    — Co-host (07:07)
• Economic Impact on Education Industry:
  • "When people really start to have second thoughts about education and spending so much money on education, that's a...billion dollar industry. So when you no longer see value in it...that's an economic effect also."
    — Co-host (11:21)

Systemic Issues: Debt and Policy

• Student Loans & Bankruptcy:
  • "You can't write off those loans or file bankruptcy on them. That's the part that sucks."
    — Rashad (13:13)
• Education Industry at Risk:
  • "The education system...is in great danger right now. And I feel like that's something that...is going to be a crisis."
    — Co-host (11:21)
  • "Within the next 10 years, we're going to see a drastic change in how people look, how they treat, how they feel about going to school and the value of it."
    — Co-host (12:40)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI Filtering Out Workers:
  "Even if you're trying to get a job, it's just hard to even get through the AI filters through your resume. So it is working successfully."
  — Rashad (10:16)
• On Executive Lip Service:
  "If I destroy an industry with my software I didn't have to give you a way to make money. So I'm not looked at as the villain. This is a prime example of an executive telling you one thing and doing another."
  — Rashad (10:16)
• On Why Students May No Longer Value College:
  "We're coming from a generation where it was still the thing, like we'll get a good degree. I'm starting to see...young people that we're around. It's like maybe it's not even viable."
  — Co-host (12:40)

Important Timestamps

• [03:04] Rashad outlines job market statistics and systemic workforce exit
• [03:44] Co-host describes bleak job prospects for new college graduates amid AI disruption
• [05:11] Shift towards forced entrepreneurship as AI advances
• [05:42] Debate on whether education still guarantees job placement or return on investment
• [07:04 – 09:31] Extended discussion on skilled trades’ future earnings and the flawed logic behind “plumbers as millionaires”
• [10:16] Rashad critiques tech executives’ talking points and AI-driven job loss
• [11:21] Examination of the education sector's economic vulnerability
• [12:40] Reflection on generational perceptions of college value and prediction of major change

Final Thoughts

The episode provides a candid, data-driven critique of the unpredictable American job market, the rapidly declining return on investment in college education, and the pervasive effects of AI on traditional and skilled professions. Rashad, Troy, and their guest analysts call for rethinking both education and employment strategies, warning of systemic consequences if current trends continue.