Student Loan Thread

[pittsoccer33]

I'll just take the money and either use it to help any other kids I have to pay their full tuition, or build my gameroom.

Build the game room now. i would.

I was fortunate enough to get through college debt free with the help of my parents, and I know how much of a headstart I had when I graduated.

I want to do the same for my children. I may not be able to pay 100%, but I would like to make a very good attempt at it.

I don't want to say I'm bitter about it, but I got zero help, outside a small scholarship and the money my grandmother would give me for books.

[newarenanow]

I don't want to say I'm bitter about it, but I got zero help, outside a small scholarship and the money my grandmother would give me for books.

My wife (and probably most people) are in the same boat as you. It is 10 years later and we are still paying her loan off (although because it's low interest and now low principle, we pay the minimum and focus paying on our mortgage down at a faster rate). We have another two years.

But it's tough when you jump into the real world with a ton of debt.

I thank my parents all the time for what they did and I want to do that for my children.

[mac5155]

Yep, im with you PS33. I had a tough enough time finding a cosigner for a loan every year let alone someone to give me some spending money.

[pittsoccer33]

in retrospect, i mightve gone to tech school. to me college was career training, not higher education. i like my job in finance but its a lousy time to be in my field of it. frank dodd is really harming our departments ability to grow our business.

i still kick around the idea of going to tech school and becoming cedia certified. the guy that hangs an 83" plasma on the wall and hooks it up to the home server, thermostat, security system, lighting, etc is probably cedia certified.

[shmenguin]

I agree. Not everyone is college material.

I disagree. I think too many people are college material. It's not difficult to get in and it's not difficult to graduate. A college degree doesn't mean a whole lot in my eyes considering how easy it is to get one. I went to a good, private university and graduated with a bunch of turds. It should be more elite, but it's bad business to make something more exclusive.

[newarenanow]

I agree. Not everyone is college material.

I disagree. I think too many people are college material. It's not difficult to get in and it's not difficult to graduate. A college degree doesn't mean a whole lot in my eyes considering how easy it is to get one. I went to a good, private university and graduated with a bunch of turds. It should be more elite, but it's bad business to make something more exclusive.

Too many people does not = everyone.

That said, I do agree with you notion that a college degree no longer carries the weight it used to, mainly for the reasons you stated.

College today (and probably for the past decade or so) is pretty much a glorified high school IMO. Back when my parents went to college (in the 70s), a college degree carried a lot of weight and anything more than that was HUGE. Today, a ton of people have a college degree, so employers are looking for the next step, a graduate degree or a professional license.

And even those are probably losing some value because more and more people are getting those, so it probably now takes a combination of additional degrees/professional certifications to get ahead.

[mac5155]

For an entry level job at my company the desired qualification is an MBA. For entry level.

[newarenanow]

For an entry level job at my company the desired qualification is an MBA. For entry level.

That's how it is at mine now. Or you have to be pursuing it, or have a professional certification like a CPA license. Also, unless you are an experienced hire, you pretty much have no shot unless you went through their intern program.

[mac5155]

For an entry level job at my company the desired qualification is an MBA. For entry level.

That's how it is at mine now. Or you have to be pursuing it, or have a professional certification like a CPA license. Also, unless you are an experienced hire, you pretty much have no shot unless you went through their intern program.

Luckily I went through the intern program here but am also pursuing an MBA.

I don't make nearly what someone with an MBA should make. That's why I think it's laughable. They say entry level, but the only thing entry level about the job is the pay.

[newarenanow]

For an entry level job at my company the desired qualification is an MBA. For entry level.

That's how it is at mine now. Or you have to be pursuing it, or have a professional certification like a CPA license. Also, unless you are an experienced hire, you pretty much have no shot unless you went through their intern program.

Luckily I went through the intern program here but am also pursuing an MBA.

I don't make nearly what someone with an MBA should make. That's why I think it's laughable. They say entry level, but the only thing entry level about the job is the pay.

It does suck, but get the experience, get your MBA, and in a few years, it should all be worth it.

[shmenguin]

be honest. aside from it being a prerequisite for some jobs, is getting an MBA really that meaningful? do you feel like you've really been enriched with useful knowledge? i have a BBA (with an information systems degree), and the business classes i took (management, specifically) were generally a waste of time.

[mac5155]

be honest. aside from it being a prerequisite for some jobs, is getting an MBA really that meaningful? do you feel like you've really been enriched with useful knowledge? i have a BBA (with an information systems degree), and the business classes i took (management, specifically) were generally a waste of time.

I think in an employer's eyes, yeah. if you want to be in a management position here you almost have to have one.

I put in about 1/4 of the work on my MBA that i did towards my BS in Info Systems though.

[newarenanow]

be honest. aside from it being a prerequisite for some jobs, is getting an MBA really that meaningful? do you feel like you've really been enriched with useful knowledge? i have a BBA (with an information systems degree), and the business classes i took (management, specifically) were generally a waste of time.

I'll be honest. Some of what I learn in a textbook I apply to my job, but 90% of what I know is from on the job experience.

In order to pass my CPA exam, (I dont' have an MBA), I had to study the crap out of a ton of accounting, law, tax, auditing, etc information, take the exam and pass it. Out of all the stuff I studied for, I use probably 10% of it on a regular basis, and honestly, if I had to take that exam again today, I'd fail.

I do think there is some benefit, but I think it is more of an excercise by the company to weed out people that do not want to take the extra step.

[KennyTheKangaroo]

be honest. aside from it being a prerequisite for some jobs, is getting an MBA really that meaningful? do you feel like you've really been enriched with useful knowledge? i have a BBA (with an information systems degree), and the business classes i took (management, specifically) were generally a waste of time.

if you want to be a masterbusinessman, you have to put in the hours working, not by dropping 40k to listen to some blowhard yammer about economies of scale

[steve784]

if you want to be a masterbusinessman, you have to put in the hours working, not by dropping 40k to listen to some blowhard yammer about economies of scale

This. I hate the current business environment. As long as you're able to use buzzwords and suck up to your superiors that goes way further than actual skills.

[TheHammer24]

I think employers share some "blame." I put it in quotations because I don't really blame them, but I think one's college or professional says little about their qualifications. This goes to your point about MBAs. In other words, smart employers could get a real edge by developing better hiring procedures that sniff out qualified college (or high school) graduates instead of using degrees and certifications as erroneous proxies. These employers would succeed by finding better qualified individuals that they could likely pay less because other employers are just following the paper.

[AlexPKeaton]

I'm so glad I work in the tech world and not the corporate world where bogus degrees like the MBA actually carry any weight.

[count2infinity]

somewhat related....

[Geezer]

I love the "promotes financial responsibility" bs; doublespeak at its best. Instead of vote buying by passing such laws why don't we allow politicians to buy people's votes on Ebay? Of course they're bribing people with taxpayer money but they can always print more.
At some point in time tarring and feathering should come back into vogue.

[TheHammer24]

I love the "promotes financial responsibility" bs; doublespeak at its best. Instead of vote buying by passing such laws why don't we allow politicians to buy people's votes on Ebay? Of course they're bribing people with taxpayer money but they can always print more.
At some point in time tarring and feathering should come back into vogue.

lol

[canaan]

where do i get my handout for my student loan debt? im trying to buy a new wrangler and this would help

#stimulatetheeconomy

[doublem]

does anyone know the average student loan debt?

[TheHammer24]

does anyone know the average student loan debt?

About 30k for graduates which has always seemed real low to me.

[IanMoran]

As someone about to go to law school (even at a nice scholarship), I'd be fine with this in a couple years

edit: Looking at it from a less-biased POV I don't think they should be forgiven, but doubling the already high interest rate is ridiculous

(I haven't read much of this thread so idk if I'm repeating anyone)

[mac5155]

does anyone know the average student loan debt?

About 30k for graduates which has always seemed real low to me.

double that to 60k to compensate for total interest and principal repaid.

pay it off in 10 years.