Matthew Russotto
Uhh, it's not so hard to know that most social science degrees aren't going to pay back quickly, if at all.
CompSci can pay back, if you're good.
LOL. Bankruptcy is not the solution. It is possible to work off the debt, even if you have a weak major, and can't find work in your field.
Educating yourself is one of the best investments you can make. But if you choose poorly (wrong major, etc.), it's like buying penny stock.
Then they chose (or are choosing) poorly. I could have paid my student loans off even more quickly than I did. But I wasn't going to eat ramen and ride my bike everywhere for that length of time. *But I could have.* The same goes for these folks that can't seem to pay off their debts. They can't because they make choices subsequently that limit their choices. Go out and buy a new or newer car, finance it, charge up their credit cards, live in a place that's nice, but more than they actually need, etc., etc.
It's a discipline issue. If the job doesn't pay enough, then lower your expenses. Take another job. Take a different job. Hell - when I wanted to buy a motorcycle, and didn't have the money to do it, I took a stocking job at minimum wage for a little over a year, and bought a used bike. It was a drag, but I got what I wanted, and didn't have to pay a dime of interest to anyone, AND I stayed with my other financial goals.
The fact that people make poor decisions in what major they choose and what they do after college has no bearing on whether or not student loans are good debt. While I can see situations where it's a poor investment, it's still better than a lot of ways you can spend money, even spend it foolishly.
E.P.
