Debt After College Graduation

Off Topic
41

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]on edge wrote:
After a quick look I found a rule of thumb. “Total debt shouldn’t exceed first years wage.”

BuildingUp, yer screwed. Lol Hopefully there’s a different rule of thumb for doctors.[/quote]

That seems like a good rule, but MDs generally wind up making very good money so I don’t think that have have much trouble paying off their debt, although I have heard that it is becoming more of a problem and is deterring some people from applying to med school.

If I were going to pay for grad school, it would have been for a trade like an MD, JD, DDS, or engineering. I wouldn’t pay for any other type of graduate degree. For pretty much all the other types of graduate degrees, the only ones really worth it will offer to waive tuition in exchange for you working as a TA or RA like I did.
[/quote]

So is a masters degree basically worthless? I’d like to have an advanced degree, as well.

CS
[/quote]

What field and what do you want to do career wise?[/quote]

International affairs/political science. After the military, I want to work for the CIA or the State Department or something.

CS[/quote]

For fields like that, a master’s will probably be worth it then especially the CIA. If you go into the military as an officer I think they even have programs for you to go to grad school while you are in.[/quote]

Okay, thanks, Doc! And yes, I will be going into the military as an officer. As part of my service agreement, I’m required to serve 4 years on reserve. However, I can sign an ADSO (active duty service obligation) for 1,2, or 3 years of additional active duty, bringing my time to 5-7 years of active duty.

For every year that I sign on, they will pay more of my student loans back, assuming I don’t receive a scholarship or have prior military experience. So if I sign a 3 year ADSO, the Army will pay back up to $65,000 of my student loans, which will be all of my student loans if I get into my number one school of choice, so I have a pretty good set up for not having to graduate with any debt.

CS

CS

42

get an arts degree and burn dat cash

43

[quote]Makavali wrote:
get an arts degree and burn dat cash[/quote]

Awesome… And because America is Fairytale-land there will be no need for you to take a job you don’t want and use it to establish a career like a sucker, you can just sit around at ‘We are the 99%’ rallies until the Department of Giving People Awesome Jobs sends you a twitter update on the smart phone your parents pay for.

I graduated a Catholic University (worth mentioning because of how much extra one must pay for god’s endorsement of their education) with 10k in debt. That was with an academic scholarship the entire time, athletic scholarship part of the time, and working most of the time. I know a lot of other people who had to work harder, but 10k still seems like a kick in the pants especially after my last year of 15 credits of classes during the day and then working 40 hours a week 4-midnight shifts.

When I first enrolled I was hoping to ride the scholarships a little harder and graduate with a really hip, trendy, Facebook-cool job and no debt, but somewhere in those four years I got hosed.

44

I just graduated last week with a BA in Cinema & Photography from the Uni of Leeds over here. Fee’s have just tripled so masters would have been an extra stupid option. I haven’t checked recently, but I know my debt is over £20k($31k). All in all, great experience but I doubt if I will gain anything much from having the degree, since jobs in the field are all 100% based on practical ability and “general office jobs” don’t appeal to me at all, even with reasonable starting salaries.

I’m paying another £3.5k to qualify/work as a personal trainer. Luckily, the student loans system over here is good, and between travelling abroad and having to earn a certain minimum amount, I will either not be paying it back any time in the foreseeable future or it will be an amount so low you barely notice it coming off your wage.

45

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]on edge wrote:
After a quick look I found a rule of thumb. “Total debt shouldn’t exceed first years wage.”

BuildingUp, yer screwed. Lol Hopefully there’s a different rule of thumb for doctors.[/quote]

That seems like a good rule, but MDs generally wind up making very good money so I don’t think that have have much trouble paying off their debt, although I have heard that it is becoming more of a problem and is deterring some people from applying to med school.

If I were going to pay for grad school, it would have been for a trade like an MD, JD, DDS, or engineering. I wouldn’t pay for any other type of graduate degree. For pretty much all the other types of graduate degrees, the only ones really worth it will offer to waive tuition in exchange for you working as a TA or RA like I did.
[/quote]

You really shouldnt be paying for a graduate engineering degree… There are plenty of universities that will pay you to get a degree and gain real work experiance / project managment skills at the same time.

I am finishing my PhD in materials engineering (metallurgy focus - cast metals) next month (graduate in december) and have started the job search. Luckily I live in Alabama, which is a great place for this degreee…

As for the debt, engineering is a degree worth taking on debt for, as long as you didnt accumulate 100k plus or somehing silly by paying for an ivy league degree out of state or something really silly… You should easily be able to pay it back… I would work 2-6 months, then look at my finances, and try to pay off my debt in less than 3 years if possible… also, do NOT graduate and go out and buy a new car, clothes and a house, get all your debt paid off, have 6 months pay saved up, then start saving for what you want next…

My goal is to have my car paid off within 6 months of graduation since its my only debt… I only bought new because it saved me money over my old car since repairs were getting pricey…

46

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]on edge wrote:
After a quick look I found a rule of thumb. “Total debt shouldn’t exceed first years wage.”

BuildingUp, yer screwed. Lol Hopefully there’s a different rule of thumb for doctors.[/quote]

That seems like a good rule, but MDs generally wind up making very good money so I don’t think that have have much trouble paying off their debt, although I have heard that it is becoming more of a problem and is deterring some people from applying to med school.

If I were going to pay for grad school, it would have been for a trade like an MD, JD, DDS, or engineering. I wouldn’t pay for any other type of graduate degree. For pretty much all the other types of graduate degrees, the only ones really worth it will offer to waive tuition in exchange for you working as a TA or RA like I did.
[/quote]

So is a masters degree basically worthless? I’d like to have an advanced degree, as well.

CS
[/quote]

What field and what do you want to do career wise?[/quote]

International affairs/political science. After the military, I want to work for the CIA or the State Department or something.

CS[/quote]

masters as a rule never really hurt, but if your taking on more debt, make sure your earning potential increases enough to make it worth while, and remember that during your masters, you would be making a bachelors salery, if you cant recoup that in 5-10 years, it wasnt worth it imho…

47

[quote]NAUn wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]NAUn wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:
If I were going to pay for grad school, it would have been for a trade like an MD, JD, DDS, or engineering.
[/quote]

If someone has to pay for grad school (PhD) in engineering, it is highly likely they are better off getting a job and saving up some money, then reapplying in a few years. A PhD degree in engineering should be funded either by a fellowship or the research adviser. A few years of experience can make the difference between receiving funding or not.[/quote]

I always thought you engineers usually had to pay for grad school. Learn something new every day, huh?
[/quote]

Yeah I didn’t find out until pretty late in undergrad. I would think that departments would have an incentive to share this information with their students. [/quote]

they dont share that, because a lot of lazy undergrads who didnt do well in class and never got an intern (read, cant find a job) will just apply to graduate school…

on average though, an engineering stipend is about 1k above poverty limit… so as long as your cars paid off, you find a roomate, dont eat out a lot, and can budget, you can get through without debt.

48

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
What you say about a masters in science fields doesn’t sound promising…

I owe 40k for both my undergrad and grad school after getting a masters in environmental science. I’m trying to get work in the field. I’ve had one interview in 2 months since graduating. Not sure if that’s bad or good. I’ve been shot-gun applying to everywhere in Houston.

[/quote]

What kind of jobs are you applying for?

You do safety work?

49

[quote]Ratchet wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]on edge wrote:
After a quick look I found a rule of thumb. “Total debt shouldn’t exceed first years wage.”

BuildingUp, yer screwed. Lol Hopefully there’s a different rule of thumb for doctors.[/quote]

That seems like a good rule, but MDs generally wind up making very good money so I don’t think that have have much trouble paying off their debt, although I have heard that it is becoming more of a problem and is deterring some people from applying to med school.

If I were going to pay for grad school, it would have been for a trade like an MD, JD, DDS, or engineering. I wouldn’t pay for any other type of graduate degree. For pretty much all the other types of graduate degrees, the only ones really worth it will offer to waive tuition in exchange for you working as a TA or RA like I did.
[/quote]

You really shouldnt be paying for a graduate engineering degree… There are plenty of universities that will pay you to get a degree and gain real work experiance / project managment skills at the same time.

I am finishing my PhD in materials engineering (metallurgy focus - cast metals) next month (graduate in december) and have started the job search. Luckily I live in Alabama, which is a great place for this degreee…

As for the debt, engineering is a degree worth taking on debt for, as long as you didnt accumulate 100k plus or somehing silly by paying for an ivy league degree out of state or something really silly… You should easily be able to pay it back… I would work 2-6 months, then look at my finances, and try to pay off my debt in less than 3 years if possible… also, do NOT graduate and go out and buy a new car, clothes and a house, get all your debt paid off, have 6 months pay saved up, then start saving for what you want next…

My goal is to have my car paid off within 6 months of graduation since its my only debt… I only bought new because it saved me money over my old car since repairs were getting pricey…

[/quote]
sound advice

50

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
What you say about a masters in science fields doesn’t sound promising…

I owe 40k for both my undergrad and grad school after getting a masters in environmental science. I’m trying to get work in the field. I’ve had one interview in 2 months since graduating. Not sure if that’s bad or good. I’ve been shot-gun applying to everywhere in Houston.

[/quote]

What kind of jobs are you applying for?

You do safety work?[/quote]

I took the land and water resources track for both my undergrad and grad degrees. So no, not so much. I’m looking more into things like handling and analyzing waste-water, soil remediation and finding and maintaining sustainable potable water sources. These types of jobs. As far as the safety work, I only took two courses for that kind of thing which are risk assessment and occupational and environmental health.

51

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
What you say about a masters in science fields doesn’t sound promising…

I owe 40k for both my undergrad and grad school after getting a masters in environmental science. I’m trying to get work in the field. I’ve had one interview in 2 months since graduating. Not sure if that’s bad or good. I’ve been shot-gun applying to everywhere in Houston.

[/quote]

What kind of jobs are you applying for?

You do safety work?[/quote]

I took the land and water resources track for both my undergrad and grad degrees. So no, not so much. I’m looking more into things like handling and analyzing waste-water, soil remediation and finding and maintaining sustainable potable water sources. These types of jobs. As far as the safety work, I only took two courses for that kind of thing which are risk assessment and occupational and environmental health. [/quote]

Cool, just curious, being in Occupational medicine we have a lot of clients in the energy, petrol and chemical industry. I basically deal with HR and Safety professional. Just thought maybe I could help.

52

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:

[quote]Derek542 wrote:

[quote]Fletch1986 wrote:
What you say about a masters in science fields doesn’t sound promising…

I owe 40k for both my undergrad and grad school after getting a masters in environmental science. I’m trying to get work in the field. I’ve had one interview in 2 months since graduating. Not sure if that’s bad or good. I’ve been shot-gun applying to everywhere in Houston.

[/quote]

What kind of jobs are you applying for?

You do safety work?[/quote]

I took the land and water resources track for both my undergrad and grad degrees. So no, not so much. I’m looking more into things like handling and analyzing waste-water, soil remediation and finding and maintaining sustainable potable water sources. These types of jobs. As far as the safety work, I only took two courses for that kind of thing which are risk assessment and occupational and environmental health. [/quote]

Cool, just curious, being in Occupational medicine we have a lot of clients in the energy, petrol and chemical industry. I basically deal with HR and Safety professional. Just thought maybe I could help.[/quote]

Jobs like figuring out the best way of disposing and analyzing waste from a hospital? Or more along the lines of epidemiology and dealing with ppe?

53

[quote]spar4tee wrote:

[quote]challer1 wrote:

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]CSEagles1694 wrote:

[quote]Dr.Matt581 wrote:

[quote]on edge wrote:
After a quick look I found a rule of thumb. “Total debt shouldn’t exceed first years wage.”

BuildingUp, yer screwed. Lol Hopefully there’s a different rule of thumb for doctors.[/quote]

That seems like a good rule, but MDs generally wind up making very good money so I don’t think that have have much trouble paying off their debt, although I have heard that it is becoming more of a problem and is deterring some people from applying to med school.

If I were going to pay for grad school, it would have been for a trade like an MD, JD, DDS, or engineering. I wouldn’t pay for any other type of graduate degree. For pretty much all the other types of graduate degrees, the only ones really worth it will offer to waive tuition in exchange for you working as a TA or RA like I did.
[/quote]

So is a masters degree basically worthless? I’d like to have an advanced degree, as well.

CS
[/quote]

What field and what do you want to do career wise?[/quote]

International affairs/political science. After the military, I want to work for the CIA or the State Department or something.

CS[/quote]

The government has an irrational love of masters degrees. Having one qualifies you for a LOT more jobs. It doesn’t even matter what field the degree is in, if you have spent any time on a government jobs website you will find a lot of the best jobs now require a graduate degree for no particular reason other than to weed out applicants.

Working for the state department is an entirely different matter. My sister is in the foreign service on the political track, which is just about the top job a regular person can land at the state department.

The only qualifiers for the foreign service are an undergraduate degree and your performance on an aptitude test. I’m not sure what sort of qualifying bonus you get for military service. The test is knowledge-based and heavily related to US/world history and pop culture (i.e. movies, sports, music) - they want people who know the USA inside and out representing them overseas. The test is very extensive though and many people study for a year or two before attempting it. People in her accepted class ranged in age from fresh college grads to people in their 50s… it all comes down to the test and a series of interviews.[/quote]

When you say “regular person” are you defining that as someone with zero security clearance or just a civilian with no prior related background?[/quote]

Being a foreign service officer is really the only career track in the state department that deals with issues of state no matter what your background. The state department does not handle jobs like other government agencies. Nearly every position falls under one of two career tracks, the “Foreign Service Officer” which fill all the political/social/economic rolls that the state department is involved in and the “Foreign Service Specialist”, which encompasses all of the support jobs that are needed to run an embassy. Foreign Service Specialist jobs are given with very high priority to the spouses of Foreign Service Officers.

When I say “regular person” I mean person with no political connections to get appointed to a position (i.e. Andy Rooney, one of the owners of the Steelers, got appointed to be the ambassador of Ireland). Having prior security clearance isn’t relevant for foreign service officers… though you have to pass certain security checks in order to get hired.

The foreign service will also pay off your student loans if you get assigned to a “hardship post” (and everyone does eventually), so if you get the job they will pay for whatever your loans are in the past, no matter what the degree was related to.

54

Does anybody know anything about science opportunities in the military?

55

Zero debt, two degrees and a teaching credential. That’s what happens when you get a full scholarship to play baseball at a private school though. HAHAHAHAHA!

56

Funny enough,

I just did my financial aid apps for grad school.

Undergrad wasnt too bad with a tuition benefit. I have around 7grand in debt with:

  1. a geology degree that I dont use (which now seems stupid)
  2. an econ degree that I thought would get me that cushy banking job, then the recession happened

I am doing pretty good though considering, thanks to busting my ass.

I just got accepted to a top 20 business school (which Dr. Matt teaches Physics at). So, hopefully that will pay off. That however is around 100 grand in debt, which is not fun. I am going part time so my costs will be lower. Starting salaries and bonuses out of there are pretty good from an ROI perspective. I plan to use whatever bonus I would get to simply pay down debt.

I have no problem living cheap and my car is almost paid off. That plus my really low undergrad debt load is helping this not hurt too bad.

57

I like that everyone seems to think paying for grad school is a huge ripoff. The first year my wife graduated from undergrad, applied to about half a dozen grad programs and only heard back from one with a terrible offer of zero financial compensation. She waited till the following Fall, applied to about a dozen programs, heard back from six, most of whom flew her out to meet and greet with the professors and take a look at their respective labs. She ended up taking a position at a great 5 year track program in Colorado, her education is free, she gets a respectable stipend (until recently she was earning more than me) and has free access to functional MRI equipment most days of the week.

A lot of schools seem to take on new students in a cyclical fashion, so you’re probably better off not settling for whoever will take you, and just waiting until the better programs have more openings. Unless you actually are a terrible candidate…

58

Nothing.

Won a scholarship.

English Literature and Linguistics BA (First Class) and walked into a decent job as well. Somehow.

59

[quote]Bambi wrote:
Nothing.

Won a scholarship.

English Literature and Linguistics BA (First Class) and walked into a decent job as well. Somehow.[/quote]
I thought tuition fee’s were nil for all Scottish residents? Nice anyway.

60

[quote]24Animal7 wrote:
Hear some information I left out or wasn’t clear about. My grades are pretty good I have a 3.67 g p a average. I also fairly decent state school the university of mass. Doctor matthew, you offer some good advice and I appreciate that thank you.[/quote]

I’m also a Umass grad, as I recall they have a decent careers department you may want to make use of it. Finacial aid was awfull so don’t bother with them.