Skeptical of the four-year college degree? Itâs still your best bet to make money. Backlash against college as a common stop on the road to adulthood has mounted over the past decade. Critics say four-year degree programs saddle most students with five-digit debt without a clear path from classroom to career. Nearly half (46%) of all families surveyed in November and December 2020 by Gallup for the Carnegie Corporation of New York said they would prefer their children attend alternatives to four-year institutions â even when there were no financial barriers. But when you compare the value of a four-year degree with other credentials â a high school diploma, certificate programs and associate degrees â it still puts workers at an advantage in the labor market and leads to higher lifetime earnings, on average.