College is where the youth are taught how to behave as compliant adults. It's continued indoctrination, including by the notion that having debt, and paying it off, is something an adult must do. A nephew of mine went to school for finance, and he was taught that a healthy portfolio carries 16% of annual earnings in debt. Crazy! Put a mortgage on top of college debt, and you have a compliant slave for life.
RE: The first jobs I ever had: Lawnmowing, and I had it for years