If you ask the previous generation on why they did not bother to get any degree, they would tell you the key reason: the inability to match the college hours with the work hours that they had and their inability to give up the job which was paying for their food.
They had to attend either the day college or the night session but if one could not reconcile with the working hours, they had it.
But, things are very different now. One can get an online degree nowadays. One can study at one’s own pace. One can choose almost any subject that they want to study about. One can even get a masters degree online