I'm probably a bad example becuase I could pay the debt off if I chose to, but the interest rate is so low, I put the money elsewhere. But, I got about $21k per year in grant money for a school which cost on average over my 4 years $30k per year. I got a fellowship for grad school which paid for all my classes and a stipend for living expenses and books. I also had that stipened supplemented with either another job or additional reasearch money. I never would have gone if they were not paying for it. I finished grad school 10 years ago, and I still have better than $30k in college debt.
I've also been through two extended periods of being unemployed or underemployed, so I know what it's like to struggle to find work. During the first one, I had to put the loans in forebearance. So, during that time, and the time when i was in school the unsubsidized loans collected interest. Just during school, my Plus loans collected $8k in interest. So, I do have sympathy for those who have actually applied themselves and still cant' find work. If you can't make your load payments, call them. It's in both of your best interests if you can make the payments, and they all have programs to help you not default.
You may also have to be willing to move somewhere that is not your "ideal" location to find work at least temporarily. I had to pick up and move half way across the country 6 years ago to finally get working a real job again. I'd been working shit jobs for a year and a half, just so I could pay my bills and not have to move away from where I was. But, here came a point when reality set in and that if I wanted to resume my chosen career, I was going to have to make a move. My dad just this past weekend moved nearly 1000 miles away just to find work. The jobs are out there, you just have to be willing to find them. If you are not willing to make a few sacrificies, I have a hard time feeling bad for you.
Grads are pretty damn important too, unfortunately. I never gave a damn about my grades for the first two years of college. But when the opportunity to go to grad school came up, I had to bust my ass just to even be considered for entry. Even though I had a prof willing to pay for it, I still had to be able to be accepted. I had to go through a special review process because my gpa fell below an imaginary cut off line. Fortunately I was able to get in, but it still follows you around. During my first period of unemployment I applied for a position that read like my resume. I went through the phone interview and at the end, the guys tells me I am nearly perfect for the position and have all the experience they are looking for.. oh, btw, what was your gpa. I tell him and he says, oh sorry, they only consider those with a 3.35 or better. Now, i had a 3.72 in grad school and made deans list my senior year, and was "perfect" for the job, but that didnt matter because of a few bad grades in my gen ed classes nearly 10 years before.
Topic: If I did my math right... (Read 2165 times)
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