HAH. I wish.
I make 42k a year, with 90k in debt. I pay about 170 a month, and I can't really afford much more. Going to be doing this for... the considerable future.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Student loan debt taking a mental toll on young people
- Thread starter entremet
- Start date
I make 42k a year, with 90k in debt. I pay about 170 a month, and I can't really afford much more. Going to be doing this for... the considerable future.
Lololololol.
Unless you go to a top tier Law School (like top 12) or are in the top 10% of your class at a crappier law school, the chance of getting a 6 figure job after graduation are slim to none.
My salary timeline after graduating from a non top tier law school was:
Sep. 2015 - April 2016: $35,000 (It was a fellowship but also literally my only option at employment after an entire summer of applying everywhere I could)
April 2016 - April 2017: $49,500 (Non-profit place, but again, only viable job opportunity I had)
April 2017 - Current: $72,500 (This was pretty awesome I admit, and since its a unionized state job w/ mandatory raises I should be over $100,000 in 5 years as long as I get my standard promotions, but Its still not enough where Im making a huge dent into my debt)
Plenty of people I graduated with are stuck in the $50-60,000 range of salaries for the foreseeable future. Hell, I know people near the top of my class that got hired at Biggish-Law firms that started at $80,000 with maybe $20-30,000 in yearly bonus, but theyre working 100 hours a week killing themselves.
There are also plenty I know that didnt get a legal job at all and basically have a useless law degree or are working in some ambulance chaser factory living on commission and are absolutely miserable.
Even the top tier law jobs are $160,000 + $40,000+ in yearly bonuses to start out (this could have changed in past few years but that was my understanding when I graduated). This is for the top tier Big Law firms in NYC/LA/Boston, etc. and those people are working 90-100 hours a week. (They also primarily went to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, etc., the cream of the crop) Financially theyre the only people who are easily dealing w/ their student loan debt. I had scholarships and was able to live w/ my grandmother during Law School so I got lucky in terms of total debt (still 6 figures), but I shit you not know people with $300,000 in student loans when you add in their undergrad. Its completely bonkers.
Only silver lining is having only government loans so as long as income based repayment options are on the table I can handle the debt load and plan way ahead for the eventual tax cliff Im facing once the loan is forgiven (Idea is that whatever amount you ultimately get forgiven on your loan after 25 years is treated as income for that tax year and youll have to pay about 30% of it)
Dash_Riprock
Member
Most lawyers do not and will not make $300k a year. Sadly, the parents who pressure their kids to go to law school (of which I see a lot here and in real life) don't seem to have gotten the memo that the market is over-saturated which means law firms can pay the new grads peanuts since there's three or five people waiting to take their place if they quit.
Gai Murakumo
Member
I was kind of lucky and I was able to pay my way through most of my degree. I only accrued about 20K in student loans. Working your ass off before and during University helps. Plus not drinking helped reduce those additional costs. I do not have the student debt now, but I felt sorry for some of my fellow students that have 50K+ in debt.
It sucks and is the real problem in today's society. You need to get a degree to get a decent job, but you need a ton of money to do so, without the guarantee that you will get that job to pay down that loan you needed to get in the first place in order to get that job. It is completely unfair for my and later generations. An older generations blame that millennials are lazy and do not have jobs. I would love to see them trying to get jobs and go through university building massive debt now just to see what it is like.
I would love to go back to University to get a post-graduate of some kind, but I do not want to have to deal with student loans again.
It sucks and is the real problem in today's society. You need to get a degree to get a decent job, but you need a ton of money to do so, without the guarantee that you will get that job to pay down that loan you needed to get in the first place in order to get that job. It is completely unfair for my and later generations. An older generations blame that millennials are lazy and do not have jobs. I would love to see them trying to get jobs and go through university building massive debt now just to see what it is like.
I would love to go back to University to get a post-graduate of some kind, but I do not want to have to deal with student loans again.
old manatee
Banned
That sounds about right, if by "mental toll" they mean "I'm about 1 month away from walking into the woods and succumbing to exposure just to catch my breath."
DriftingSpirit
Member
I figure this is a relevant article to post.
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-student-debt/7520/
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-student-debt/7520/
mckmas8808
Mckmaster uses MasterCard to buy Slave drives
I also had about $23K in student debt. Took me about 14 years to pay off. And I choose the option to pay MORE per month lol. Like $300 a month.
Me too (Mexico). I managed to graduate while getting paid to do it, then moved to the US. Been looking for the crummiest tech support job with not much luck, lol.
L4DANathan
Member
I started with $14k after 2 and half years, didn't even get to graduate, since I had to pay $2k per semester on top of the loans. Down to $11.5k, and work a low paying job since I don't have a car to get to any good work.
No, I'm very lucky that I had a fellowship in undergrad that covered my tuition and gave me a stipend for the majority of my time.
Crimson_Gold
Member
Which one did you go to? If you don't mind my asking
I here that. I Got my AS-T at a CC. Zero debt. That said I am likely going to incur 17,000 give or take from transfering to a local state school which is basically like buying a cheap car.
They can also kiss my ass if they think im going to pay 1,000 a month in payments afterwards. I don't care how much I make.
AdventureMike
Member
Yeah it can. Got it under control years ago, but there were some scary years early on.
Donnie Dumbass in office takes more of a mental toll than those loans ever did though. Dude is selling out mine and the next generation's futures at the very least. (Im 31)
Donnie Dumbass in office takes more of a mental toll than those loans ever did though. Dude is selling out mine and the next generation's futures at the very least. (Im 31)
FUBAR McDangles
Member
Graduated with 34k. 10 months later it is down to roughly 31k. After actually paying close to 5.5k in actual money. Interest is a bitch.
I am 24 and want to pay it off by the time I am 30. Aggressive extra payments and a good chunk of tax returns should do it. Hopefully.
I am 24 and want to pay it off by the time I am 30. Aggressive extra payments and a good chunk of tax returns should do it. Hopefully.
Management and sales are the big money payers. IT and software development can be anywhere from 40k-100k depending on cost of living and position. Finance and law have huge salary curves. Doctors can in their mid 30s by the time they start out, and salaries peak at probably a few hundred grand for the most lucrative specialties (anesthesiologists)
Regginator
Member
Damn at all these numbers. I thought mine were high at 9,000. Graduated two years ago for my bachelor but I still haven't found a well paying job. Right now I'm just making ends meet and planning to get married next year, so for the time being I'll just pay off the absolute minimum they allow me.
Triple Dash
Neo Member
Am 24 and graduated with $28k two years ago. My current debt is close to being half way done, with about $310 a month. Am hoping to be mostly done with it by the time I have to get health insurance/an apartment. Am living with my parents so I don't have too many expenses beyond insurances and sometimes groceries/gas, which I'm very thankful for.
Finding a decent job that uses a liberal arts degree is probably my biggest source of stress right now by comparison.
Finding a decent job that uses a liberal arts degree is probably my biggest source of stress right now by comparison.
Pagusas
Elden Member
In the home stretch. 35 years old and less than $1500 left. After that, I can finally pay off my car loan!
Ouch at that interest rate. Wow. I thought my wifes was high at 3.7%, and mine was only 0.9%
FlaygletheBagel
Banned
Seriously feeling for you guys with these huge debts. My parents drilled this shit into me when I was in high school and still deciding on a college, since they were crushed under student debt themselves.
At the end of the day, even though I got in to a few big art schools and my parents would've been supportive of me if I decided on them, I saw how much debt I would've had if I did, and opted to go to an affordable state university instead. Graduated with no student loans.
Reading these totals and seeing my friends come out of graduate school with humongous debts reassures me that that wasn't a bad choice.
At the end of the day, even though I got in to a few big art schools and my parents would've been supportive of me if I decided on them, I saw how much debt I would've had if I did, and opted to go to an affordable state university instead. Graduated with no student loans.
Reading these totals and seeing my friends come out of graduate school with humongous debts reassures me that that wasn't a bad choice.
OG Shaka Zulu
Member
Congrats! After you went solo how long did it take to find that life balance? I had entertained doing the same at one point but knowing me I don't think I could handle the stress and hate bringing work home mentally.
If it weren't for my debt I'd go back to school and change careers. It'd be too ridiculous taking on more debt at the moment.
Angelus Errare
Banned
Not at all, however IIRC stats showed that doctors/lawyers were overwhelmingly the ones filing for bankruptcy against their student loans back when you could (I'm also pretty sure it was found out that less than 10% of people even filed for bankruptcy against their student loans ). Keep in mind this was back when tuition was like 3k a year. >.>
Karsticles
Member
My unsubsidized grad student loans are 8.9%.
Pagusas
Elden Member
Holy hell, any way to refinance that?
DominusLeges
Member
My undergrad private loans are 13.7% and banks wont refinance them for me because of debt to income ratio despite my excellent credit. Shit is infuriating.
That shit should be illegal.
DominusLeges
Member
It is now. Unfortunely for me it was completely legal for my first two years in college. Those two loans ended up ballooning into more than half of my total student loan thanks to interest and thats even including my two years of grad school for my MA. All the rest of my loans are sub 7%. Less than half of the interest.