Avira > there’s no mitzvah to be thoroughly and seriously educated
Please realize that you are talking from a certain narrow POV. Someone will certainly have a more certain parnasah, a better quality of life and self-respect, and less yetzer hara of business aveiros being an MD than selling shmatahs.
> so yidden find aitzos to get degrees and get paid more for the same jobs or start new careers without having to waste time learning about gender studies or how white supremacy is the foundation of America.
Again, this is OK for jobs that require a check on a degree, rather than serious knowledge. You surely know difference between good and average yeshivos, same exists in professional world. So, if someone gets this degree to be a store manager it is fine, but if he uses it to become, say, a supervisor of a nursing home and then loses people during Covid due to lack of knowledge, then it is not OK.