Unfortunately, that boom came on the backs of students, many from already disadvantaged backgrounds who took on debt in the hopes that a degree or additional training would allow them to compete in an increasingly tight labor market. Many of those degrees were, for all practical purposes, worthless. In the book, Cottom makes the case that for-profit education boomed because the previous avenues of training — public schools and corporations themselves — were shunted aside because powerful interests sensed there was money to be made on the hopes and dreams of individuals.