@ucbalumnus, it actually is still possible to work your way through college. Besides working for a college that provides tuition remission or an employer who covers college tuition costs, in many states, publics and CC’s are still cheap enough (and so are online programs) that you can do that. The main issue is that when many of your HS peers have to work their way through college, that is seen as an acceptable route but when many of your peers go away to college (even if they have to take out big loans to do so), then working your way through college is seen as much less appealing.