It annoys me a bit when comparison is based on age, because at 30, my parents had both been working for over 10 years, no student loans since they didn't go to college. However, they never earned a high salary.
I'll be 30 in 3 months and I just go out of university. I am still within my first year of working full-time. And I'm not an exception within my social group. Most of my friends have at least completed a M.A. I have student loans, but my starting salary is already over average. Right now, I justhit the positive, like 2 months ago, lol!
So, I think it's comparing oranges and apples. A fair comparison would be : what did you accomplish the 5, 10 first years you started working. We have to take that ''higher education delay'' into account because a whole generation got one, and because it translates in other aspects too: people now get married older, have kids later, buy homes later, etc.