College worth going into debt?

I'd say it is definitely worth it. I make more with than without for sure...but I also like what I do...luckily. Lots of folks go through school, get a degree, then a job and still find they hate it. A generic degree is fine and all but I would say they tend toward jobs that pay what you are already making...and may not be a better job. Of course, individual jobs make a lot of difference. Your bank job may not be fun but bank 2 down the road may be a blast. All of my rambling is to say, go to college, try to figure out what you really want to do for a career and make it happen. Ask for advice from the college's career counselor. Look at average wages per occupation, determine if there is a demand in your area, look at future trends, etc. Don't blindly just go to college and see what pops out. You may not be better off than you now are. Definitely go, but educate yourself before you educate yourself if you know what I mean.

Ideally - can you do it without the debt? My kids are. It is tough. But they are doing it. They work and they go to school at the same time. Do not take on more debt than the cost of tuition and books. Do not go to some ivy league school that will cost you an arm and a leg just to get in. Go to a state school. Look for scholarships! Too many take on the total cost of their living along with the school fees. That is way too expensive!! You can't afford it! No one can.

Make sure it is something you want to do and it pays BEFORE you go into debt. If I were in your shoes - I would do it in a heartbeat. Keep the debt to the minimum!

I definitely am going to Oklahoma State if I go. I definitely can not do it without going into some debt. $4k per semester is more than I can swing. No bank will be fun for me to work at. I don't like the work.

Thanks for all the advice and opinions! I am terrible at making my own decisions....too much of a worry wart.

Okay.... My wife and I have college loans that cost us more per month than our morgage. That being said, if I had it to do over again the only thing I would change is my BA in Poli Sci..... it is useless.... infact most BAs are useless unless you go on to grad school. The most bang for the buck is an AS degrees right now....two years your done and making more than most BAs can make. I am back in college now getting my RN.

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Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it.

A.) Your 4-year degree will be no guarantee you'll find a good job, or even a job you like. So if you go, go because you want to do it, and not because you expect anything out of it. I know people who have 2-3 degrees, who are working for $9 an hour in retail and such. It's an expensive way to find out what you got out of college is really not valued in society.

B.) I do not like student loans. They place a terrible burden on the graduate, immediately, and it does not go away. SAVE and work as much as you can to minimize loans. Take night courses, remote learning, whatever. I went to college full-time, but at each and every break, I was working 40 hours/week, I worked 80 hours/week at 2 jobs each summer to save, and I worked while in my junior year to help with expenses. Yeah, I didn't get to party on the beach. But I owed nothing when I got out and got my first entry level low paying job.

c.) You need to get goals and a purpose before you act. That means you ought to have a goal and a purpose before you go to college, as well. Because once you enroll, the meter is running. List what you like about your job and what you don't. Then list jobs where you work that you might like better, and assess your chances for promotion to them. Then make another list of all your interests, and cross them off til you get down to just a few that you really feel you could earn a living with. Those are the fields you pursue IF you go to college. But you may find a banking job off your other list that you would find satisfying, without going into debt for more college. My point here is, you find yourself by critical self-examination, not by, "Everyone thinks I should," nor by going someplace that you think will find you for you, like college. The only one who walks in your shoes is YOU.

There are lots of self-help books that can help you. Also, look at this site, read the pertinent columns, and be sure to look under Career Resources...

http://jtanddale.wordpress.com/

Good luck.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

Here's that self-examination again: What don't you like? What do you like about it? (It can't all be terrible.) Do you like the sales aspect, as in loans and etc.? Could you move into investor relations? Or do you not like working with customers, maybe preferring an accounting role? What talents do you have that you are using now in this job you don't like, that you could transfer to a field you do like? What are those fields where you have an interest and transferrable skills? Can you network with people from those fields, positioning yourself for a job?

It's not as simple as just going off to college.

You can also ask others you work with, or friends, what they think your talents are. Then make those lists and examine it all. Things will gradually focus themselves.

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Jim Steele
Sweetpea Farms
"To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing." -- Robert Gates

wow, glad to see that i am not the only one that got suckered into poli/sci because i wanted to go to law school. i got my AA from western oklahoma state college. then i transferred straight to southwestern and finished out my BA. majored in poli/sci and minored in business management the whole way. that fourth year was a booger. i decided i didnt want to go to law school and barely made it through that last year. but i stuck it out because i be damned if i was going to go that far to not have anything.

that was back in 99. i have wanted to go to law school ever since i think i just needed some time off from school.

after graduating, i had nothing lined up. moved back in with my parents and worked at a lumber yard making 6 bucks an hour. after 2 years of that crap, i quit. luckily i landed a job with The Oklahoman as a district manager. now, this is a pretty good gig, for what it is. but it is not what i wanted to do with my life.

if i was to start back, i would start in the fall. but, this is the time to start applying for pell grants. thats the good stuff.

i know i didnt help you out much, but at least you aint the only one that has gone this path.

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"Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee."

First, go to your employer...many times they have their own type of financial aid & will pay for classes.

Second, I have two kids that have their masters. One got financial aid & he & his wife are in hock up to their ears due to both getting financial aid for their degrees.

The second worked & paid for hers while going to a state university. Took a little longer, but is free of debt & can move on with her life, financially stable.

You make your choice as to which senario sounds better to you.

I second whomever said to get a degree that's saleable in this market.

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Only she who attempts the absurd can achieve the impossible

I did go back to school at the age of 36. I limited myself to using student loans for only 1/2 of the direct school costs (tuition, fees, and books). Between working and scholarships I had no problem finding money for the rest.

I feel most people don't take advantage of all the scholarships out there. One semester I spent 70 hours working towards getting scholarships. I received over $10,000 in scholarships for the next year. What legal job could a student do and receive over $140 an hour.

I ended up graduating with less than $8,000 in student loans. Ended up being very easy to pay them off.

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If the grass looks greener it is probably over the septic tank. - troy n sarah tx

Our existance here is soley for the expoitation of CMG

I think this is the first thing you have to change. If you don't have any goals, there is no point in going back to school. If you go back to school, you are as likely as not to end up with a degree that won't help you to achieve your goals if and when you determine what it is you want to do.

It sounds like you have a job that, while not particularly fulfilling, allows you to make ends meet. It also sounds like you are recently divorced, and may not have quite recovered from that trauma. It takes time to heal the wounds of a failed relationship.

I think you should take some time to heal, and to determine what it is you want to do with your life. Only after you've done that can you really know if going to school is the right thing for you. Education should not be an end in and of itself, but rather a tool that lets you accomplish your goals.

I've spent 15 years in one form of education or another after graduating from highschool. Has it been worth it? Sure - My goal was to become a plastic and reconstructive surgeon. I love what I'm doing, and I couldn't do it without first putting in all those years of education. But if I didn't enjoy what I am doing, then those 15 years would have been wasted.

Determine what it is that you want to do, then the way to get there will be much clearer to you.

Best of luck, and I'm sorry to hear about your divorce.

this is the time to do it...

Before you commit to going to school, I'd say a little self-discovery is in order!

First off, believe that you can have a wonderful fulfilling life

Next, dream what you want that life to be, say for the next 5 years

Finally, make a plan, step by step, day to week to month to year working towards your goal.

A great book I recommend to getting you started is: Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live by Martha Beck.

As Jesse Jackson says, 'if you dream it and believe it, you can achieve it'!!!

good luck and have fun,

B.

Heather, my families specialty is going through college without going into debt.

No debt at all.

You have your AA degree already: is your chosen university close enough to commute to? Because, while you consider your options it would be very wise to knock off a few Saturday courses. You should be able to pick up a few general ed classes towards your major.

Your game plan is well worth thinking about: I will write more after I think about some of the things my relatives and friends have done to get through school owing nothing at all.

I have to agree with the posters who said you first need to examine where you are and decide where you want to be.

That said, you're in the perfect position to do this. You're young, with minimal responsibilities (no kids, no DH, no mortgage). The longer you wait and the more responsibilities you accumulate, the harder it'll be to go back to school, both in terms of time and money. People go to college for a number of reasons and making better money is only one of them. Knowledge for its own sake is hardly a waste.

I'd suggest you consider the investment in a good career counselor. Get to know what you're really interested in, and take a look at the job climate in those areas of interest. Finally, if you do go back to school, I can't recommend strongly enough that you get involved in internships or other work experiences that are connected with your classes. It's a risk-free way to try out some of your options.

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Beth ~ Old Church, VA
3 Nigerian Dwarf goats, 4 cats, 3 Pekin ducks and 7 chickens. One very patient husband~

I do some adjunct work.

It has always amazed me how many wide-eyed college students come walking through the doors of academe, unsure of why they want to be there, and are led like lambs to the slaughter down the pathway of useless degrees.

You see, the nasty little secret of the university faculty is that if you ain't got students, you ain't got a program. If you ain't got a program, the prof ain't got a job.

Therefore, if you are going to go back to school, get a degree that means something...something that is, and will be marketable in our economy.

College debt is not bad debt, unless it is excessive. Working your way through school is ok, but it's not always best...two reasons: 1)if it slows you down so much you miss a year's worth, or maybe two, of a much higher paying salary. Example: you go to school an extra year, so as not to incur 10 grand worth of debt, but if you had graduated a year earlier, your salary would have been 40-50K. You must put a pencil to your decisions. And 2)if work causes your grades to drop significantly. Many federal government jobs give salary and hiring preference to graduates with 3.0 GPA's, or above. Many internships are not available to mediocre students.

With more and more people in the labor force with college degrees, the type of degree and the grades you make, have a huge impact on the jobs you land.

I have thought about it some, and this might work.

Move in with your sister. Find work. Go ahead and enroll, but do it as a PART TIME student!

You are no longer a kid: you can probably carry 8 units while working full time. I know that I did. Save every dime that you can. Take weekend courses and telecourses. Speaking of telecouses, is there any rason why you cannot take some starting after Chrismas? The commute to take the tests would be grim, but it might knock off 8 units.

When you are ready, go to SCHOOL full time while working weekends at your job. You will have had a start on your credits, you know the system, you will be secure in your employement, and you will have had a chance to check out any GRANTS! Do NOT take out a loan at this time!!!!!!!!!!!

This will cover the first 1- 1 1/2 years at your school with no debt at all.

Whether or not you go into debt afterwards is up to you. You might choose to work summers to get ahead: then you might not have a debt at all. You might choose to go into debt to graduate 3 months earlier. But, you do not HAVE to go into debt. Not at all.

If your sister was not living in the area, by the way, I would have asked you to check into being a dorm monitor. They get (or used to get) free room and board in exchange for being available to handle any problems that arose after hours. When I was in school, MOST of the problems the dorm monitor was asked to resolve had to do with one room being noisy while the next room was trying to study.

As for what you WANT to do, I am a lousy career counselor! I am much better with dollars and cents!!!!!!!!!

Edited to add: Re-read Jolly's advice as to whether or not you wish to go into debt to graduate a year earlier. Truer words were never spoken! You do not HAVE to go into debt, but you might CHOOSE to!

Make sure you know what you want. Although even that could change through the years. My sister is a successful Aero-space engineer working 40-60 hrs a week at a stressful job making a boat load of money. I have a degree in microbiology but I am a farmer. I work a few hours a day 7 days a week. Now ask me who is happier.

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Chris
http://aberryvinefarm.blogspot.com/

I'm going back to school to double major in both construction AND air conditioning/heat repair. Less than a year on both majors unless I max out and decide to make it two years then I'll be working. AC/Heat pays more and is a lot more stable than construction. Main reason for me taking construction is so I can learn how to do add ons to a house, etc for my own benefit. Don't go to a 4 year college. 50-70% of the first two years is what you won't even use in real life..history, etc.....much easier to go to a voc tech school. You should go to the nearest college and take an online assessment of what you like to do and the computer will spit out different vocations that will match what you need. Unforunately what the computer spat out didn't meet what I wanted to do mainly because I'm deaf and most of it was military or police related. It did say I would be good in construction, teaching, a/c heat repair. I just resisted it for a long time because I didn't want to go to school for the lack of a better word. I like variety and like traveling and like doing different things daily so both majors meet what I like to do. Ideally if I ever had lots of moolah, I would rather be a rancher/farmer but since I'm dirt poor..not gonna happen.

Go try to take an online assessment at the nearest college and see what it tells you! You might be surprised and maybe resistant at first but computers don't necessarily lie.

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Ted H

You may all go to Hell, and I will go to Texas.
-Davy Crockett

Yes go for it, the more education you have the better off to find a good job, that will give you a great feeling of accomplishment with documentation to go with it. ENJOY life and learn as much as you can. as far as debt to school , just don't go overbard and do what you can at the time your doing it.

I work with the older population and one thing I NEVER heard was , I went to school and I have this degree but no one respects me for it or I never used it.

get yourself enrolled today!! sometimes it takes yrs just to get accepted if your an older , non traditional colledge student.

Good luck and best wishes

I don't know anyone that regrets getting their degree. I do know people that regret not getting their degree.......Myself included....

This is the perfect time to do it.

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"They laughed, because he was different"

"He laughed, because they were all the same"