The US aren't the only nation to insist on degrees for pilots - Turkish, Air France and many others do too. It is an utter waste of time and money for most, and few graduates have relevant degrees in any career, never mind ours. It is only useful if you intend to move on from the line into some sort of niche, like technical, management, human factors and so on, and then only if you study a relevant degree. The only benefit for most graduate pilots is that it may have given them some useful life experience and maturity as opposed to starting a pilot career at 18, but some of those entering airlines at 20 can have an older head on their shoulders than many graduates - it is a highly individual thing and each should be taken on merit.