However, given the topic is "elite" production, at least some of those people would have got the high earning jobs anyway because university is used as little m

However, given the topic is "elite" production, at least some of those people would have got the high earning jobs anyway because university is used as little more than a finishing school by the parents before they parachuted their offspring into a cushy job somewhere inside the government or a large corporation via their contacts network. The actual degree is irrelevant to their earnings.