A generation or two ago, during the post-WW2 college expansion, any bachelor’s degree was less common and therefore a positive distinction in the job market. College was also less expensive then (as noted by previous posters). So exploring your intellectual interests in college was not incompatible with earning a credential toward a higher paying job, since the latter was much more automatic at college graduation than it is now. Employers then were also more willing to hire with the expectation of on-the-job training or learning – now, they expect job applicants to have the training, learning, and credentials already done (at the job applicants’ own expense).
So it is not surprising that pre-professional aspects of college (including choice of major) have become more important recently compared to a generation or two ago.
While social work is a notoriously low paying job that prefers high educational credentials (so no surprise that there are not enough social workers specific to the job, leaving social work problems to the social workers of last resort with badges and guns), note the many STEM disciplines also do not have very high paying career paths associated with them.