Hey flyle,
As you have done, I am going to make some outrageous generalisations here.
Guess what, your 4 year degree is not even the equivalent of a European 2 year degree. Heck, outside the Ivy League, all you have to do to graduate, is show up .
Education has little to do with pilot skills as is shown by the accident statistics for Doctors and Lawyers in general aviation.
The minimum standards are set by the FAA, or JAA, or whoever, but then it is up to the pilot or his employer to improve on that.
The achieved, or in service, standards of piloting vary greatly within all jurisdictions and your generalisations highlight your limited exposure.
There are brilliant and cr*p pilots in all countries, which are you?