What is your job and was school debt worth it?

[Dirty_habiT]

I'll start off by saying I never went to college for much more than a semester. It was a community college course to get a certification I never completed. I managed to get into an entry level position doing Linux Administration due to being tired of working at "normal jobs". My school was nerding out on computers as a hobby and I have my dad to thank for that because he got me into computers at an early age. I mostly used them to play cheesy video games like Gravis Keen, Sim Ant, Sim City, Doom, Heretic, Hexen, etc. I just got lucky because tinkering eventually turned into a job for me that I didn't owe any school debt on. I skipped a lot in high school to hang out with friends and "chief blunts" so I never got a scholarship. It was a waste of time because I don't hang out with most of them anymore, in fact none of them. There's no way to know those things when you're a kid though. Most of them are still doing the same things they were doing in highschool today, 17 years later. That makes me 34 years old for those that are keeping count. I don't care because I'm not an outlaw trying to hide from the police anymore so they can read whatever they want about me on here.

 

In any case, I jumped ship from multiple jobs over the years concerning computers and eventually ended up working in downtown Austin, TX. It's "corporate" you could say but we have no dress code so it's the typical bearded people wearing shorts with flip flops and ironic t-shirts that are paid for their programming merit rather than being paid to do some sort of "monkey" type labor. I call it sewing soccer balls when you get turned nto someone that just does trouble tickets in our industry. Once things feel like sewing soccer balls it's time to jump ship. :)

 

My current job involves working as an engineer for systems "in the cloud" for medical companies. The medical industry has what's called PHI, or protected health information. The red tape around how this info can be used/transmitted is quite a bit. The systems have to conform to HIPAA compliance to be allowed to store and transmit PHI. In any case, this is what doctors require to host their internal applications they use to work on people in their clinics, offices, and hospitals. I make sure that their systems work and help them through problems when they cannot figure things out, and they rarely can. I like to tell people I work with that we fix computers, they fix people.... we cannot expect them to know how to do things like change their password. This job has exposed me to doing more Windows administration than I've done in years but it's not hard and there are still a good share of linux related issues that I get to work on.

 

Anyway, back on topic; my girlfriend is paying off school debt that she's had since she went to school. When she tells me how much is left to pay I'm quite amazed. It's a stark contrast to what I did to get where I am. She's considering going back to school but I've told her we're not doing it on loans this time, we'll just pay for it outright so there isn't this weight to carry around afterwards.

[One Man Banned]

In my case school debt was worth it because I have been able to slowly pay it off and I can make decent $. I think the issue for people at this point is really awareness, which I didn't have when I started out. You have to balance out shit like how much is your loan, how long might it take to pay it (factoring in interest), and will you make enough with the degree you get to cover your expenses plus your loans. You're probably saying hey, all that shit is common sense Einstein. Mainly true, but then here comes the part that 99% of us didn't know- that for the past maybe 2 or so generations the student loan companies were making loans that they knew would be a challenge for anyone to repay, leaving most college grads in a shit ton of debt when you factor in the interest they will pay over the life of the loan. Loan forgiveness, to me, is a bit of a hoax as the forgiveness comes at the end of 10 years. Trust me, these companies are not lending on the principle of kindness, they are still going to get their money from you over the course of 10 years. Let's also not forget that your debt is hanging out with your credit score for 10 years as well. To make matters worse, per a story that came out last week, one of the largest loan companies purposefully steered people away from options that would have allowed them to pay their loans off quicker or reduce their payments, did this to millions of people for years.

 

So yeah, go into it knowing risk/reward and make sure it's worth it to you. If you're able to pay for shit as you go you're a fortunate motherfucker and if you have that $ I'd say it is well spent to put that down and not have to borrow/owe/make payments.

 

The rest of which you speak is kind of apples and oranges. There's different knowledge needed for different jobs, some require trade school, some college, some you jut learn hands on in the field, on the street, in a gym... you get the point. Any one of those jobs could earn more than another, it just depends how much value society places on it and what are people willing to pay for it.

[Hua Guofang]

Yes, very much worth it.

 

I was an analyst for 7 years and am now doing policy engagement at our national university with futures work and international engagement with other universities and govts. Will be at an international air/space show next month doing stakeholder engagement. No way possible you can play in this game without lots of study, which itself is enjoyable.

 

Will do a PHD in the coming years.

[Hua Guofang]

I also worked in Austin for a while, hellova town.

 

Wouldn't have done that either if I didn't do uni!

[Fist 666]

I joined the Army under a student-loan-repayment program. Did enough to time to cover that, and qualify for GI Bill to send me back to school. Had I not served I would be wholly crippled by debt (I have friends from my first degree that are drowning).

 

This current degree will not be a money-maker, but money doesn't drive me, happiness and contentedness in the work I do does. I will be able to afford my house and acreage and live a simple life. That is ultimately all I want.

[Dr Dazzle]

Guess it all depends on whether or not you get a well paying job afterwards. If you're 80k in debt and making $8 an hour in a coffee shop, I'd say it probably wasn't.

 

I went to college when I was 17 years old and left with a diploma I neither wanted nor used. I enrolled in University when I was 25, realized again it wasn't something I could see myself doing forever, and dropped out after one semester. Thankfully I got refunded on most of my student loans, but I was, and still am, paying for what's left (although it should all be gone by the end of this year). I ended up in a job by complete chance, one that requires no secondary education, one that pays decently, is unionized, and is the first job I've ever had in my life that I actually enjoy doing. 8 years later it's turned in to my career.

[Dose-ink]

I'm currently in a specialized grad course, because I took an undergrad in such a broad field of study with only a very minimal area of narrow focus. I thought about options, stayed local to cut down living expenses and kept a part time job on the side to help out where I could.

 

Problem is my degree qualified me for a very basic entry level position and it's a dime a dozen degree. I don't have much on my transcripts that stands out GPA wise apart from minoring and being bilingual in another language.

 

This grad program that I'm in now I applied too because it was something that I could find very appealing and interesting and would not have me working a 9-5 cubicle life. Unfortunately had to take out student loans and even then, it has barely been enough for me to get by, living in a major city is definitely a financial burden. However, the qualifications and field experience I'll have upon completion should position myself in a nice spot where I'll will be comfortable at least for 5-10 years to pay off debt and live comfortably.

[Decyferon]

I work in a kitchen. I have no debt from school but I also have barely any schooling due to being a fuckwits when younger.

 

Am thinking of studying as a mature student but more concerned with covering real life stuff like bills n rent so not much time. Plus I've not studied in over 20 years

[~KRYLON2~]

I dont have much debt from school because i worked a full time job and took night classes. It took me 6yrs to get my bachelor's, not every class i needed was available at night. But anyways i got promoted at my job because they liked my work ethic and i get the job done the right way. My employer didn't even know that i had a college degree lol

[Druthers]

I went to school after a fourteen year hiatus at twenty-eight. Community college then craft school for metals. Dropped out due to life crisis. Started as jeweler. Through much diligent work, hijinx and adventure I find myself living very comfortably now.

[Hua Guofang]

I work in a kitchen. I have no debt from school but I also have barely any schooling due to being a fuckwits when younger.

 

Am thinking of studying as a mature student but more concerned with covering real life stuff like bills n rent so not much time. Plus I've not studied in over 20 years

 

I didn't start my first degree until I was in my 30s. Did my masters degree working full time. Wasn't easy but plodded away with one subject a semester until it was done. Was well worth the effort, the job I have now is a direct result of that degree because I got a job at the college where I studied!

[breakfast menu]

i post things on the internet. shouldn't have gotten a degree for this, but didn't really know what i was doing at 18 (or 23, or...) and am good enough at this that i'm still doing it.

 

i don't think i'll stay at it forever and looking at a screen and reading nightmares all day isn't fun. i would rather be an electrician or a welder.

[Druthers]

Shoot. You've got that if you want it in four or less. Bonifide. Papers and e'erthang.

Depending on your state school's probably even reasonable.

[Tails0nE]

well i work in a restaurant as a "serving assistant" but soon to be server.. basically a fancy word for backwait i do everything but take orders for now.. my restaurant is a michelin star restaurant so the pay is pretty good my job was actually on the chicago episode of "fuck that's delicious" recently.. i didnt go to school because i was young and stupid and i ended up having a kid with basically the antichrist herself.. honestly though ive been thinking really hard about going back for broadcasting and audio production and engineering because i love music and making music, i could definitely do radio shit and most of all ive heard tons of things about my voice and how i should do it from numerous people.. also thinking about voice acting or trying to get into it.. it looks fun and even though it does get exhausting playing a cartoon character or whatever for 8 hours a day or so i believe id still have fun with it.. mark hamill is notorious for the voice of the joker besides being luke skywalker and i think thats super dope i definitely wanna do something like that but dont know where to begin with that.. but first things first, i gotta save up money, get my license back and a car so i can start seeing my son alot more often THEN start looking into going back while working at the same time and saving up to move out of this damn basement.. dont know if it'll be worth it but i believe it'll be a start and a foot in the door in the industry id like to be in rather than be serving tables for a living..

[CILONE/SK]

Got my two degrees while I was in the army.

 

Got job after that because I had degrees and experience.

 

Hire people for a living now.

 

I see the shitty lives people who did not degrees have.

 

Having a degree is not for everyone.

 

Not having a degree is very much likely you will not get a decent job nowadays.

 

Having a lot of debt because of it, is bullshit.

 

Lack of options for younger people.

 

Life sucks, kill yourself.

[AmuroRay]

First off, glad I went when I did, if I had to start from scratch today, fuck it, I'd get into a trade.

 

That being said, I feel like once I weigh out the pros & cons it was the right move.

Luckily my mother forced me to go, once I got in however, I knew it was worth it to finish it.

I wish I had more direction and a better idea of the impact a degree could have,

(at 18 all you want to do is smoke and fuck, feel me?) but having a degree is an asset.

 

My BA is from a reputable public university. It never landed me a job per se, but it has been a factor

in getting hired, and at my current job I was promoted at warp speed partially because of it.

I fortunately have no debt, between working through school, grants(grades) and help from my mother

I paid as I went and avoided loans. I would NEVER go on loans alone.

 

As I approach 30, and now that I am part of a large company, I have been seriously considering my masters.

Where and in what, I don't know. Then I think of the cost and have a legit hard time convincing myself it would

be worth it.

 

Damned if you do, damned if you don't type situation.

 

Overall answer: Yes, it was worth it.

[iloveboxcars]

Climate Control for Critical Systems (read: Air conditioning for computers)

 

I'm in a union. So I didn't pay for school, I have the Cadillac of insurance plans (dental/vision/health) for my wife and myself. I can (and will) retire when I'm 55 unless the business I start in the next few years takes off. They're (the company I work for) is about to pay for me to go to school to learn how to program building management systems (essentially the brains behind all the mechanical stuff).

 

I make slightly over scale at just under $66 an hour.

 

Basically: fuck college bruh.

[Boodah]

Went to Alma Heights. Higher education in elementary form. Got straight A's, with one A- (in mathematics), realized that 2008 would be hell to literally enter, at the supposed Alma Mater, waited until family spoke for it, and they helped make sure that my higher education was still higher education. Stanford is in my family, my profession (old restaurant speakeasy owner). Went there for baseball camp, which really did well, since the little league was fucked as far as fun.

 

Leaked a bunch of Stanford secrets, so I had to clean my act up, in the past year.

[Boodah]

I joined the Army under a student-loan-repayment program. Did enough to time to cover that, and qualify for GI Bill to send me back to school. Had I not served I would be wholly crippled by debt (I have friends from my first degree that are drowning).

 

This current degree will not be a money-maker, but money doesn't drive me, happiness and contentedness in the work I do does. I will be able to afford my house and acreage and live a simple life. That is ultimately all I want.

 

I would go the opposite direction, if I were you. seen my cousin go through his grant process, and if you can do that, it would definitely pay dividends, either way you cut it. Thinking about the last 5 years of my 5 year plan, it was worth it for me to duck a college degree.

 

Apologizing for the double post.

[SukiSukiNow]

Have my masters degree but completely irrelevant to what I'm doing but wanted to milk living off the parents

[Hua Guofang]

Shit, I still study almost every day and I'm not even enrolled in anything right now.

 

Face it, I'm a geek.

[misteraven]

Slightly off topic, but I see apprenticing / mentoring making a huge come back. Likewise, short of professionally certified type jobs, and even then, I see the internet and technology stepping in and taking a serious bit out of standard institutional learning. It's already happening slowly, but I see this trend growing exponentially and think in 5 - 10 years time a shit load of colleges and universities no longer existing (or at least not in their present form). Honestly if you took away state and federal funding, you'd probably collapse a third of them over night.

 

Just harder and harder to qualify $35 - $65k a year for years to buy yourself a degree considering what waits on the other end. Likewise, I suspect people will also wake up to realize how much money they've spent to learn (or at least go through the motions of learning) subjects that have almost zero application to the career they're working towards.

 

Just my two cents.

[morton]

I survey land and have been working underground on heavy civil construction projects for the past few years. I never went to school beyond junior college and that has been an ongoing issue in understanding the bigger picture and developing the level of technical acumen that I would like to achieve. At this point going back is a tough proposition as I have been in industry for 16 years. The pay-cut and lifestyle change combined with the fact that I never really liked school much nor was I very good at it make that a non starter.

 

I am struggling to find the motivation to work toward a degree while working but that takes serious discipline and not a little bit of money.

[you can microwave bacon]

sounds like you're doing fine, morton.

 

fuck school

[theprotester]

Chief Cool Dude

 

No education required