100% depends on what your major is. If you are an accounting major, my firm hires college grads at $57k. If you have your mba, it is like $60k, so not worth it to start your career.
Later in life though, its good to get it.
Other majors, there will obviously be different sitautions.
You are spot on that majors vary. But you are wrong about MBAs; an MBA from a reputable school will pay roughly $120,000 starting salary (Penn, Harvard, ect) vs all the others.
Employment Statistics - Data & Statistics - MBA Recruiting - Harvard Business School
congratulations.
no, a four year degree is not a high school equivalent...wonder where this stuff comes from? not graduates.
if money is all that motivates you, choose a graduate major wisely.
Yes it is, this stuff comes from the real world and experiance in it.
Go to school for economics for 4 years, see where it gets you beside low-paying government jobs.
Go to school for Psychology for 4 years and see where it gets you--- $20K at the most.
Go to school for liberal arts for 4 years and you will be stuck working at star bucks as a barista.
Get a BS in Chemistry for 4 years, you will have miniscule starting salary.
I know a man who dual majored in Physics and Geology, genius, 4 year degree, guess what? He makes $35-40K a year, and is going back for his masters because he realizes a 4-year degree won't pay for itself.
Go to school for a Biology B.S. - State game commission? Research assitant? $30K if you're lucky
4- year Business Management- McDonalds GM $40K a year.
Go to school for economics + JD, you make $130,000 (starting, people I know)
Psychology +Phd, practice ~$70,000
Liberal arts, lol no comment
Chemistry + Phd, $70,000+
Physics, Geology + Phd ~ $80,000 from what friend was saying.
Biology + Med school ~ $100K starting salary.
BSBA + (DECENT) MBA $120K/year.
Employers realize that most people going to school these days are a bunch of entitled fools, with their parents paying for their education. Lets say, ten, twenty years ago, with a high school degree you earned slightly better than minimum wage, and were at least able to find a reputable line of work, people with no high school degrees worked minimum wage jobs. Back then, most BS/BA/BSBA degrees, commended larger salaries.
Now-a-days, People with no HS degree either collect state assisted aid (ie, food stamps, welfare) or are criminals. Now a days, high school degrees fill the minimum wage jobs and 4-yearcollege degrees do
slightly better than this. Now-a-days, it is the Post graduate education that commends significantly larger salaries.
pippin my man, I don't mean to step on your toes, but your post, it seems like you took your tone because I assume you have kids in school. let me give you some honest advice, make sure they are doing a useful major first of all. second of all, show them my post, cause, it will make them realize how useless their 4-year degree will probably be, and consequently make them decide to care more about their GPA, which will improve their chances of cheaper post-graduate education. Good GPA and test (MCAT, LSAT, GMAT) scores, you can get post-graduate education fairly cheap depending on the field.
Pics Below. This present coupled with my big CRHing return (see An EPIC Return Kills Category 3) sure has me excited about rejoining the rest of you guys in the hunt. 
