Well if you actually look at how bad it is, 2000 hours is 50 weeks of work. That means that if you worked 40 hours a week for the entire year, never taking a day off, you'd have 2 weeks wages to cover all expenses, outside tuition and fees, for the entire year. Not to mention you'd have to be working full-time while also attending school. 

It's literally impossible to just pay for college while working a job you could hold in college. Unless your parents saved for you, a loan is outright required. No fucking wonder student debt is so stupid right now.