Student Loan Debt...is it worth it?

[ArchAngelAmaris]

It's a question I've been asking myself a lot. It's a serious issue to me. I have borrowed almost 10 thousand so far and I've read so many articles on the topic. It seems there are so many people who think that an education isn't worth what you spend on it. Obviously I chose to go to school and I hope that the payback after I graduate isn't too bad. What do you all think on the subject?

[Sharij]

I think it's a very personal matter.
To me, education means very little. I don't care for education (though I AM doing my "Abitur" which is the highest form secondary school in Germany).
If you really want to do a job, for which you NEED to study, then study.
But if you don't know yet what you want to do, or you don't need to study for the job you want to do, why then should you study anyway? ^_-

Money isn't sooo important, better ask yourself what would please you the most!

[Maeve]

Interesting subject.
I personally am lucky to live in a province with low tuitions fees (around 500CAD/year for college, 2500CAD/year for university, if I remember well), so obviously the debt factor here is somewhat less of a problem for students. Most of them work and have students' loan, but it's mostly to cover the rest of the things they need to pay (apartment, car, etc.).

Certain people didn't get an education, or not much, and still managed to get a great job with a nice salary and all that, but in general, more education = better chances of getting a good/ well-paid job. Note that I said chances. Some people will make long studies and will never get a good job out of it, because of the market, the place they live or some other factor. However, jobs that you can get after getting some education are generally well-paid compared to jobs anybody can get. Not necessarily a million per year, but still better than working at Wal-Mart.

I think studying is more of a personal choice in the first place. Do you want to study something? Do you need it to work in whatever you want? If yes, then go for it. Chances are that if you really want to learn about something, you will do all you can to succeed, thus getting good grades and references, which are always good when you're looking for a job afterwards.
And if not... well, you would not be asking those questions.

[ArchAngelAmaris]

You know, I come from a family that would be considered highly under educated by American standards and my family really didn't push me to go to any Ivy League school or anything so I guess my views on education are:

1. I want the college experience.
2. I don't want to go for the glory of the alma mater.
3. I want to study.

Sharij, I think you have a good point there. If I didn't necessarily have a plan I guess I wouldn't have a the need to enroll in college at all. I do know what I want to do and there is no way to do it with out studying. So I guess that Student Loans are just part of what comes with the education. I think what would please me the most is having a good life and having the opportunity to live comfortably and buy things I want when I want. I didn't have that opportunity early in life. I still don't lol not yet anyway.

Maeve, you have interesting points too. I can't tell you how many times I've wondered if I could do without studying and achieving my goal. I wondered if I could just settle for a job in some sort of starting business and hopefully work my way up. I decided I NEEDED to achieve my goal for myself. I think that student loans are worth it for me. I've also been careful to not set myself up for failure you know? I've chosen a marketable and versatile skill set that I'm trying to acquire. I know some people that are majoring in philosophy or one specific foreign language and I expect to make millions just because they are enrolled in a university. Well, maybe they'll be happy with their degree no matter what.

[Tsemara]

In my case, the money I borrowed to use on my education was wasted. The education I recieved was hardly more than a here's your book. Here are some tools. Figure it out yourself. By the time I realized my mistake, I had already been in the program too long to pull out without reprocussions. Once out of this school, I went to look for a job, and was told I was overqualified to work at many places. With the help of a friend of mine, I found and held a job for little over a year. I was not in a good place after that long in a field I had no business being in. Basically I was on the verge of a mental break down.

I ended up taking another loan out for alternative schooling, when my first 'career' didn't take flight.

The second choice ended up being a disaster as well. Apparently the training I recieved was not considered a valid form of schooling and was thereby blacklisted from several major facilities.

Now I'm over 50 thousand dollars in the hole, without a job, and wondering how I'm going to afford to pay my bills for next month.

[ArchAngelAmaris]

[Tsemara]

I've been slowly attempting to pay off my loans using a portion of my paychecks. Interest is a killer. I'd have had a majority of two of my loans paid off if it wasn't for the interest and hidden fees I hadn't checked for before signing. Be very careful of those.

I'm currently checking out the local unemployment office and trying to see if I can get some advice, or hopefully, get pointed in the direction of cheap or free training for a field I would excel in.

[ArchAngelAmaris]

Did you get loans from private institutions? I only borrowed directly from the department of education that way I can remember where all my loans are and what the interest rates are. Fortunately the interest rates on stafford loans aren't bad and I qualified for loans that don't accumulate any interest. What kind of training did you partake in before all this happened and what kind of training are you interested in now?

[Tsemara]

The first loan is with Sallie Mae, a student loan company. The second is with the bank I go to. I didn't qualify for any grants or other loans, according to the councelor I went to.

As for the training, the first one was a culinary program. Stupid me. The second was for animal care. It wasn't veternary, but more along the lines of animal handling. Liked what I did, but doesn't do me any good. Now I'm considering computer maintenence, now. I do that enough at home, I might as well learn how to do it professionally, and get paid for it.

[ArchAngelAmaris]

You know, I think that you are going to strike it rich in your choice. I just think that it's a good market to enter. There are a lot of people that mess up their computers and don't want to send them off to the company to get them fixed and a lot of people's warranties run out and they go to trained professionals like you aspire to be. In the small town I live in there is a small business that is run out of someone's house and they do computer maintenance and I think they do pretty well. People's computer's are always messing up.

As for the culinary program. I don't think it was stupid. You know, I almost did that because I thought it might be fun. And I also have many friends that really really want to do it. I guess the market is just flooded right now, and I think that it's tough to get a start in that industry. It's so weird how you can't ever prepare yourself enough. You think you're making a good enough choice and it ends up being to complete opposite of what you thought.

[Martyr]

I'm lucky to be in the position that I am. My parents have saved up enough money for me and my sister to go to university and my grandparents are also helping to pay the accommodation fees and weekly allowances. The money issue isn't such a big deal and I'll get a small grant, however I will also need to take out a loan so as to cover all the bases.

I think you should go to university if you have the chance, but only if you are 100% sure that you are studying the correct subject. Although some university courses aren't really worth it and only specialist subjects benefit.

I'm also not sure but I think Scotland gets free education that includes universities, it's a shame I live in England where we still have to pay, but not as much as overseas students.

[ArchAngelAmaris]

I know!!! The cost of education here is ridiculous but the job markets are hardly friendly if you don't have a degree or certificate of some kind. It's really bad here right now as it is. School in Europe seems like a good deal to me. I hear that it's much cheaper all the time.

[Sharij]

But the system in Germany is a whole chaos!
The bachelor and master-system has been initiated some years ago, but they don't know how to deal with it, and the students are protestiong like all the time, because they can hardly deal with the whole situation.... I'd speak with students of various universities before deciding to study there!

[ArchAngelAmaris]

[Sharij]

Yes I think it was a good system....

I don't know much about the old system, but I think some years ago they only gave diploma and doctorates, or somehow like that, at least I know that this B/M-Thing is a whole mess since a couple of years.

I heared that employers prefer diplomas before bachelor and most of the time even more than masters.... Don't know why... Don't know much about B/M because I don't want to study anyway.