Men are struggling mightily in the mating market. There are a lot of statistics that support that statement.
Plenty of men went to college and obtained a bachelor's degree and a decent white collar job. For their efforts, they struggle to get vagina. This didn't happen in past decades. It is a phenomenon of the 2000s and beyond and has mainly affected Millennials and Gen Z.
Many women now think the overwhelming majority of men are not viable or acceptable. Consider the right swipe rates. They are in the low single digits. Rollo Tomassi is well known for saying that the average woman wants nothing to do with the average man.
White women likely the most fussy in the United States.
Women routinely dismiss men for the most trivial of things, a behavior that is most pronounced in White, college educated women.
You're correct that men used to be respected for a bachelor's degree or useful trade certification and a decent white collar or blue collar job. Now? That doesn't seem to make a lot of a difference for a lot of men.
Men are getting thirstier than ever as women are rejecting more and more men. As women reject more and more men, men turn to substance abuse and excessive consumption of porn accompanied by masturbation.
The dating market is telling men they aren't good enough.
The solution is maximizing some combination of looks, money, status, and personality/charisma. Looks and money are most important. Rollo Tomassi says "Money, Muscles, and Game".