It is a mistake to regard "education" as a blanket notion. In reality, there are useful degrees (mostly STEM) and useless degrees (mostly liberal arts). Not surprisingly, those who pursue useful degrees tend to do well in a normal labor market while those who pursue liberal arts degrees - especially those famous for being utterly useless, such as Art History and Sociology - tend to end up with debt but few job prospects. It therefore is incumbent on would-be students to consider life after graduation before selecting their course of study.

As for China, it is such a distorted economy that no useful lessons can be drawn from the experience of graduates there. When the State controls so much, hopeless inefficiency is inevitable. China is merely at an earlier stage of inefficiency than was ultimately reached by the USSR, but the trend line is inescapable.