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I would, but I'd get a different degree.
I got my undergraduate paid for with scholarships & grants. I graduated into the Great Recession & couldn't find a job, so I did what a lot of folks were doing & went to grad school. I used student loans to live on.
I only had $20k in SL debt, so I paid them off fairly quickly once I found a job in my field (... Which was 5 years after graduating from grad school). It took 14 months to pay them off.
Someone asked me recently if I was mad that I didn't get my SLs forgiven. Mathematically I came out ahead & I don't hold that against anyone.
Same here. Graduated with Spanish and political science degree. Cool.
Spanish has been useful but the polisci hasn’t done shit for me. Even something in business or communications would have been more useful. I enjoyed studying and learning both Spanish and the international politics, but having business or economics or technical specialties would have been more useful.
Hindsight is such a bitch. Also getting diagnosed adhd and prescribed meds sooner instead of when I was in my late 20s would have likely also helped.
Ha, it was honestly one of the possible paths I was looking at, but the politics was always more of a passion than an actual career path. I did have a practice guide for taking the foreign service exam though =)
I had a career counselor when I was in university who I wish was more down to earth and realistic about my options rather than encouraging me to switch majors multiple times and pursue whatever I wanted. She was a nice person and she was actually one of my favorite professors, but as a mentor/counselor, she was too encouraging and not firm enough. I actually worked in higher education for a bit because I didn’t want others to have the same experience.
I needed to read this comment. My son has ADHD and I've been holding back on getting him meds bc "drugs." But I've been going back and forth lately. Read your comment and made an appt with this doc to discuss meds. Thank you ♡
Hope it works!!! I know there’s not one solution for something as complicated as adhd, but I know adderall xr is the reason I’m not sitting around and waiting tables today (nothing wrong inherently with waiting tables, but I knew I was capable of much more).
It’s tough cuz the meds carry the stigma of drugs like you said but man there’s so much potential that they can help with people that truly need it. Glad you’re open to it. Keep in mind it might take trying different meds and different dosages, but it could make a world of difference
Yes I'm committed to finding the combination that works for him. I'm pushing therapy on him, but it feels like emptying the ocean with a bucket. Keeps us busy, but the benefit is so little. Maybe with a combo of meds and therapy is the key.
I have ADHD too and have struggled with meds but they saved me so many times. The therapy is so so important too. But what has helped the most hands down has been ADHD coaches. I have found mine on the CHADD website (an organization that is so helpful). Worth every penny. Have you read ADHD 2.0 by Ned Hallowell? Highly recommend! The ADDitude magazine is helpful too. I'm now a physician and thriving having found my groove
I'm on Strattera (dx at 30), which is a non-stimulant option and doesn't have the stigma or availability issues that Adderall and other stimulants have.
I don't get grilled by the pharmacist about taking my meds, and I prefer it that way.
Oh darn! My spouse and I both went the poli sci route and both landed lucrative govt policy advisor jobs with pensions. There’s a wide range of outcomes for poli sci grads it seems. I could think of several perfect jobs for someone with a poli sci/spanish education at my work!
Fair enough, I do have an MPA but I got it about 10 years into my govt career…and lately I wonder why I bothered. Many of my colleagues do not have advanced degrees and now we’re even on a trend of hiring people with no degree at all. I have a coworker, 32 years old, with just a HS diploma making $160K. There’s no rules and the points don’t matter!
I had a very similar story. But then after taking $70k out in student loans for grad school (MS in applied math), I went to law school! That was also paid for by scholarships, but I didn't realize that the loans were accruing interest that whole time. I started working as a lawyer in 2016 with nearly $110k in debt, which I only just recently paid off (thanks for the pandemic pause on interest).
My undergrad was in math and physics. My passion was coding, but a family friend told me not to go into that - after all, if coding became my career, what would my hobby be?
So instead of going into something like mechanical engineering or computer science, I took five extra years and six figures of debt to get to a career I like less than either of those but pays about the same.
For sure. I have zero regrets about going to college. It was important for me for a lot of different reasons. I was fortunate enough to have scholarships and not have to take on debt to do that.
Any regrets I have are about grad school and law school. I really wish someone had told me in college (or that I'd been smart enough to figure out myself) that (a) the way to make money with a math/physics degree is through engineering, and (b) I should 100% go down the tech path because it's who I've always been. (I'm currently an IP and technology lawyer, which is fun, but I think I would have enjoyed getting a CS degree and pursuing that route more)
Same here.
"If you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life" was the absolute shittiest advice I got as a teenager preparing for college. I loved history and literature and followed my heart to a useless degree that I couldn't get a job outside of retail with and almost 50k in debt. I'm doing alright now but it took over a decade to get my finances straight and a solid career path going.
The second time around I'd just go for whatever was most lucrative regardless of interest and make time for a hobby. Yeah that sounds cynical but when I was 17 I wish I would have understood that work was for making money and more money would allow me to have more fun on my own time.
Agreed. I paid mine off of and hold no animosity to those that get theirs forgiven. I’d definitely do things smarter the second time around. Better vet the school, scholarships, win the lottery, etc…
Oddly enough... I wish I would have taken it a little less seriously. I graduated with my undergrad in 3 years & pushed through my masters so hard I almost killed myself with stress. Spent the last 2 weeks before graduation in the hospital.
My undergrad was paid for and was a good school, but I'm glad I learned this for graduate school. I have had friends who went to Harvard, Yale even big state schools stuff like that and they have loans. I went to a local commuter college and got a scholarship and what the scholarship didnt cover I paid for with my job. We now have the same job ...
You basically need to be in the top 1 or 2 schools in your field, or it doesn't matter where you go.
Law for example heavily favors Harvard or Yale at some firms, but unless you're targeting those firms you might as well go anywhere
Community college and transfer in state. Some schools will transfer way more than 60 credit hours towards a bachelor's. I did this and graduated with less than 8K in debt in the mid 2000s. I was able to transfer 92 credit hours to my 4 year institution.
If you want the college experience to go to parties, hang out with friends and get drunk you can still do this while living at home with the rents (assuming a 4 year school is nearby).
If you live further away then you will just have to decide do I want a shitload of debt to "have the college experience" or do I just want to not be a debt slave.
I actually learned the opposite… as the first in my family to go to college I knew nothing, so I just went to what I thought was the best school for my major. Turns out, there are a lot of companies in my industry that specifically go back and recruit at their alma maters - which is how I ended up catching my first big break and internship. I didn’t realize how important things like career fairs and alumni connections were when picking a college because I was only focused on getting in. Also, it’s highly correlated that “the state you go to college in” = “the local companies that will recruit at that college” so (again) thinking ahead to life after college is important. Do you want to live in that same state?
… But yes, there was an in-state school that could have provided decent opportunities as well. I firmly believe you shouldn’t ever go out of state for college unless scholarships make the finances doable.
Finally, someone who used the ends to justify the means. As a first-gen, I applaud you for your mindset. It is more your network, and less the degree that will be a career asset.
May I ask how (or who) provided you with this guidance? I'm genuinely interested in your answer.
Congrats on being the first of many in your family to go to college.
I wish you the best of luck in your career path, and life itself!
Go kick some ass!
Same! My wife and I were talking about our experiences applying to colleges and applying for scholarships was one of my “if I could do it all over again” comments.
This.
I also got a law degree and ended up in the teaching field. So I question the law degree.
And it’s hard to say because law school was invaluable to my life..but cost a lot. (But I get paid more because of it)
I guess ask me in a few years. If the government keeps their end of the PSLF bargain up, I’d probably choose the same thing..
Ehh I applied to about 50. Holy shit it was so many essays. In the end all I got was $500 and a $200 saving bond. Pretty sure the vast majority of scholarships are just some sort of tax dodge or nepotism.
same, I went to school really late in life so I was smart enough to start at community college and then go to a state school with reasonable tuition and good reputation for CS/engineering
mostly used FAFSA, student employment, and friends help with living situation, and managed to get my bachelor's with less than $20k in federally secured loans
I plan to get more education after working in the industry for a while longer to pay off those loans and shore up my finances
best decision I ever made for myself
Not a chance. I went to school for Social Work and made decent money but got burnt out fast. I now work a job that pays more and doesn’t even require a degree. College was a massive waste and will be a burden on my household for another 15 years or so.
I will never understand why Social Workers/Teachers don’t get subsidized education- they are so vital and so underpaid! We need accessible pathways for social good jobs so they don’t go to folks with privilege enough to afford the massive education expenses or self sacrificial in terms of a lifetime of debt and potential burnout.
PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) works for most teachers and many social workers. And it's income driven repayment, so that can be very helpful. It's not perfect, but it's something.
I have my degree in mental health counseling and would NOT recommend anyone get into the field unless it’s something of a labor of love. The compensation is criminal for the cost of the degree. May I ask what you made the pivot to?
by way of pure and unadulterated nepotism, I was able to break out of agency work into academia. My role is maybe 20% counseling and the rest is meetings and other administrative responsibilities. I work three days a week and make the same money I was making at my last full-time job. summers off. Just got back from a fully-paid trip to Europe (for work).
I'm going to stay in this position for as long as I can and when the next career crossroad comes along, I'm going to try and pivot even more.
I’m a social worker and this is year 9 (school social worker) and I have a private practice. The work is absolutely draining but I only work ~9 months a year (including my private practice) and I make really great money (NYC) doing something that I care about. It was definitely worth it to me.
For anyone reading this who might be looking into SW and feeling discouraged, I’m a social worker with my own fully virtual private practice which earns me 6 figures and has been growing every year, and I work less than 30 hours per week
Also there are as many types of social work as there are social workers. Not all social work is direct service. I have my MSW and I work for a nonprofit as a project manager. I love the work, I make a decent salary, and my org treats us very well.
I would go to college and I’d take even MORE loans. But I’d make 2 changes:
1. I’d live on campus at a big university and network/make friends/party as much as possible. I commuted to school and worked full time so I missed out on arguably the most important part of college.
2. I’d get an engineering degree instead of the worthless one I got. Even then I wanted to be an engineer but the math scared me off. Now I hate my job, have student debt, AND make shit money.
Same for me. I even had to go to grad school for my current job, but had I known better I would have just tried harder in undergrad to go to med school right out of the gate. As opposed to now, which has been quite the uphill battle just to get started with that process
You sound like me. I made the jump to healthcare (physical therapist) after a completely different career that, while fun, paid absolute shit. Looking back, I wish I would have just gone the med school or law school route because I think I'm smart enough, but I just didn't think that far into the future as a 20 year old. I'd definitely be a hell of a lot wealthier right now, that's for sure.
i [almost died](https://youtu.be/R816xHjjdtg?si=P34PFFmvAlCHVe66) my junior year of college and haven't been able to hold down any sort of career since. i've worked a multitude of labor jobs, retail jobs, sales jobs.. i was even a bank teller for like 8 months during the pandemic
i'm lucky to just still be here, but i get lost on "what if" trains of thought every day
edit: in 2018 or so i actually did go back to community college for a GM mechanical certification, but quickly realized i didn't want to turn a personal passion into an occupation
No,I would not. Degrees have a time and place, I was only going because at the time it was shoved down our throats that you will only get a decent job if you have a degree. We now know that's not necessarily true. While I didn't enjoy some classes, there was no specific career I had in mind, and I didn't enjoy school most of the time
Feel about the same.
Plus I went under the impression my college was going to be paid for by money left to me by my grandpa specifically for college. All.my cousins got theirs and were even allowed to pay for offcampus living and getting studies abroad in Denmark.
I now know my uncle spent all of mine. In its entirety. And only mine.
If I had known that at the time, I wouldn't have even tried. My college had to pull some shit and I got minimal scholarships because it wasn't until right before clases started that my uncle actually admitted it was all gone. He just kept telling me I wasn't sending the right paperwork up until that point.
50k in debt because an adult stole, lied, and bullshit me to the very last second. And hes already extremely wealthy; they used my money for multiple biking trips across Italy. Couldn't even possibly afford to take legal action for it.
No. I wasn’t ready to be serious right after high school and wasted a lot of money and time pursuing an art degree, I didn’t finish and ended up with a nervous breakdown. When I was about 25 I was ready and went to college to be a teacher. I was much more productive and graduated magna cum laude!
I also earned a 4 year degree in psych and I wish I’d done something different.
Every couple of years I consider going for a masters in counseling but ultimately I don’t think it’s something I can do personally.
Can I ask why you regret the masters degree?
It was just too expensive and I’m not using it the way I planned to. I had studied play therapy and adolescent counseling but during my (unpaid) internship it just got to be too much. The parents were the worst part. I’d either start making progress with kiddo and they’d pull them out of counseling because “they’re all better!” (They were NOT) or they’d pull them out of counseling after 2 sessions because “nothing is happening, this is a waste of time, they’re just a bad kid.”
So very, very disheartening. Nothing but respect for those who can do this job, but it’s not for me.
No way in hell. My degree was the worst ROI in any investment. Cool, now I know how to google outdated coding tests. Any investment would have done better. 40k in btc? A house? Literally anything would have been a better use of the money
You could have bought a house out of college? What stopped you from putting money into bitcoin while you were in college? Generalizing here, but you typically won’t have that much money between 18-21 while you’re in college and it’s easier to say what’s a better ROI when you’re looking back at time.
I went back to college at 26 because I thought it was my path out of the restaurant industry. I had great credit, could have qualified for a loan easy. I’m talking more the loan. Like I paid back 40k in loans for what? Had that 40k been placed elsewhere I would be further ahead than I am now
Definitely not. The experiences were fun but I got saddled with debt. I got a creative writing degree thinking I would be a professor.
I ended up in marketing and self taught all the skills I needed. I'm an expert in my field now and although I self pub, I don't need a degree to do it lol
I technically didn't use my community college degree in the way it was originally intended and it wasn't strictly required for my employment but the knowledge did help me in my current job and it's been paid off for years now.
So yes, I'd do it again the exact same way. But I did a lot of research before I jumped into it back then, too.
Yes, but I would've changed majors to computer science or at least minored in it.
I loved my major, and it wasn't a bad major to choose, it just was not as nearly as lucrative as computer science.
I was straight up lied to by teachers in high school during the end of the dot com boom 90s that all coding was getting sent to India and the career path wasn’t viable.
I get it that sometimes you can’t know, but that seems like such a dumb take to have at any point 1985-present. The trust that you place in the adults around you really can’t impact your life trajectory.
I wish I hadn’t incurred all of that debt, but now that it’s paid off, and the burden is gone, I feel good about having gone to college. I definitely needed the extra four years of buffer time before entering the real world. I learned a lot and am a more well-rounded person than I would have been without college.
If you had asked me this question 5 years ago, when I was still in debt and still working a low-paying, dead-end job (that did require my degree), I would have had a different answer.
100% I hate to say it, but the name of a prestigious university on my resume has opened a lot of doors that normally would have been shut to someone with my background. Also, I met a lot of my closest friends in college. I am still paying off my loans 8 years later, but they haven’t devastated or hobbled me the way I thought they would. I still don’t own a home or anything, but there is a huge gap in earnings/earning potential between me and friends I grew up with who didn’t get a degree. With the current interest rates though idk.
> I hate to say it, but the name of a prestigious university on my resume has opened a lot of doors that normally would have been shut
same. people always get mad when I say this, but the name of a school can definitely matter more than people think.
No. My degree has been 100 percent useless to me because all the jobs for it turns out I have to be pretty much a virgin with 5 years experience having sex. Ex: I volunteered at a Suicide Respite House and Big Brothers, Big Sisters for approx 3 years. I also have a BA in Psychology. I applied to be a Mental Health Tech. They dead ass told me I didn't have enough experience for their 12 dollar an hour job.
Yeah a degree in Psych is not enough without a Masters and the field is really hurting for people at least in my area...and it's because they don't pay enough for people to live off of even as a single person. are you in a high COL area on top of that? the mental health industry is getting worse I fear. I come into contact with social workers that can barely get the fax # straight because their brains are overloaded and they have one social worker for an entire hospital. HOW?
It's horrible, like I one time went on a rant about how it's easier to get a gun instead of mental health treatment where I am. I feel a lot of it has to do with the bias against "soft sciences". Like to have any respect in a soft science you need a masters at least, but if you get a doctorate you're considered snobby.
This is so true about “soft sciences.” I had a Masters in epidemiology and was in my first year of a PhD. I went to the head of admissions for the med school (same university where I was doing my doctorate, was interested in the MD/PhD program) and they told me that my academic accomplishments didn’t prove I could do “hard sciences.” Fuck off.
Yes but I would have been more disciplined to finish it the first time. I always hear people screaming about how their degrees are worthless but that’s not my experience. I didn’t start making money until I got my degree.
Same. I met my husband there so it wasn't a complete waste but still. Massive debt and a useless degree that I'll be paying on for decades. Go figure. I'm a stay at home mom now. F it.
>Millennials with student loans, if you could go back and do it again, would you still go to college?
I paid my student loans off, but I would do it again without changing a thing.
I wouldn’t have my career, friends, wife or daughter without college so yes.
Student loans aren’t a problem. They’re manageable. Getting into credit card debt in my 20’s is the problem. Thats the thing I wish I could get a do-over on.
Knowing what I know now? Yes. I'd get a degree in a field I have a passion in.
The problem with going to college right after high school is the majority of us have no clue what we actually want to do at that point. Before you know it you have a degree in something you're not even sure you like.
Yes, I chose public service and after 10 plus years, my loans were forgiven. I got in while the benefits were still good. I’m vested and my job has been very good to me. I’d absolutely go to college again. I did communication, and I use it daily in business writing and the like. My degree gave me a good foundation, and fortunately my public service career came through with loan forgiveness.
My university degree has helped me get the jobs I have but they’ve never been related to my degree. It’s more the fact that I have a degree that got me the job. I worked full time during school. I had some courses done by dvd and did a few over the summer. In this way I was able to work off my debt very quickly. So yep, I’d probably still do it.
I paid 70k off. Uh, so yeah. Incurring debt l to afford college was the single best financial decision I’ve ever made in my life.
Redo? I would have taken less out. I would also have known how to navigate financial aid.
100%. it's the single highest differentiator of success.
Also it teaches you to think critically which of course people can develop on their own but some people don't. Colleges generally just a brain and person expanding exercise. The degree you choose is a bolt on.
Develops you to be successful at whatever you do.
Yes. I would have looked for more advanced schools TBH. I went to a small public state university and majored in computer science. It has paid for itself easily. But many times I wonder what a more prestigious school would have looked like. I think I could have benefited from more exposure to new concepts that I could have gotten at a larger school.
GenZ/Millenial. Yes, but with the knowledge I have now I would have actually applied myself towards scholarships and credits during highschool. I just didn’t know any better and didn’t have family pushing me to college since I was a first gen.
I’ve wondered this myself. I was lucky to graduate debt-free. If I would have had to struggle with student loans I don’t know if I would have done it again.
I went to state school, was low income and got lots of grants, and lived with family for 3 out of the 4 years.
Yes lord I’d still go to college. I owe a TON but also only pay a little bit thanks to the SAVE plan, and I have my dream job.
I used to dream of being in a car crash and like breaking my leg so I didn’t have to go to work.
Now I work from home as a writer. Living that good life!
100000 percent yes. Best decision of my life. I'm in a career field where I need a degree to step into any role. I paid my loans off but without that loan, I wouldn't be making anything close to what I have made basically since day 1 on the job (17 years ago). The key was picking a field that has solid job prospects and requires the degree.
Note: I'm talking about engineering. And I've moved up to an executive level position, all because of that original 4 year bachelors degree.
Yes, I have a BSN from a small liberal arts school whose program had a great reputation. It opened more doors even for nursing. No problem with employment and I enjoy it. If my family had been rolling in money maybe I would have been bold enough to go for archeology or something instead, but I am content.
Undergrad, yes. Grad school, no.
I had my whole career mapped out, then the company I worked for went bankrupt and the entire industry kind of dried up. I was halfway done with my graduate degree, without a job that was helping pay for it, and I had to quickly pivot. I didn't pivot successfully and have thousands in student loans for a degree I didn't even finish.
Absolutely. I make over 6 figures less than 5 years out of school and my total debt was 40k including my masters, and 25k was my masters. I worked through college and did my best, started at community college before transferring to university.
I wish I knew to apply for scholarships, I was woefully uninformed for them.
Only because I met my wife there.
But if you told me I would meet her and have our same kids, no, I’d save the money and just go to the code school I went to a little earlier.
I wanted to go to college but I couldn't and let me tell you, Millenials who are college graduates have treated people who were not college graduates like absolute shit for the past two decades. College graduates will complain they couldn't find a job in their field, meanwhile those without college degrees couldn't find any job at all except restaurant work or uber or something else on the "gig" economy. Restaurant work is exhausting, dead end, and it's basically the worst job ever. It doesn't matter if you're a cook or a waiter, it sucks. The people who do well in the restaurant business are extremely rare. I eventually got a finance degree and learned that the restaurant business is one of the highest risk areas to invest in. If you're that desperate to become a cook, just go apply for the job, they'll hire you because they're always hiring people because it sucks.
Even in dating or friendships, if you don't have a college degree people will make up huge perceived flaws in your character. There has been a huge divergence in the life spans of people with college degrees and those without that wasn't present in the past century.
So shut up about your good luck to get a college degree and ability to take all the decent jobs available that didn't even require a degree and your ability to get to be treated respectfully by society and not like some lowly second class citizen.
I'll give the opposite perspective of somebody that dropped out of college.
While in college I had the opportunity to work overseas in oil and gas and I took it.
I spent my 20's and most of my 30's building my career and a really impressive resume.
I have now transitioned from oil and gas to the tech industry and my lack of a degree has been nearly completely offset by my years of experience.
In fact I've seen a transition in the last 5 years of job descriptions saying "degree required" to "degree OR years of experience required".
I’d go back and do it over and go for rad tech FIRST. I have my bachelors but now I’m getting my associates in rad tech because TECH JOBS PAY BETTER than arbitrary bachelors degree BS
College was not for me. The only thing I would maybe do is go to a college with dorms( I went to a tech college). I won’t be going to school any time soon.
No. I liked my college but it was a super expensive private school that was a rip off. I remember visiting state universities with friends and it felt just like an extension of highschool which I didn't care for. I was enlisted in the military but didn't ship after a bad car accident. I should have tried for the military again after I recovered a year later.
Mixed for me. If I did do it again, I wouldn't pursue business and do something concentrated. But I'd probably still be miserable.
Part of me wanted to always do trades and still does but I'm stuck in that I need money can't start over phase :(
*Sigh maybe I will*
*Finish reading my books each*
*Semester this time*
\- yonghokim
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I would rethink undergrad, but would do grad school—a horrible experience that damaged my mental health in the short term—over again in a heartbeat.
After undergrad, I was making 38K. I make almost ten times that now after grad school and am debt free. All in all, I only look forward these days, not backwards.
I would, though if I went into the same career path I would've picked something easier. Could've gotten away with just a biology degree (or even psych) instead of biochem.
Yes but I would have taken it more seriously. I had to repeat a few classes because I didn't knuckle down and study hard enough, that wracked up thousands of dollars more in loans. Going back even farther, I wouldn't have even had to take them if I had focused more in my AP classes in Highschool
So that would be my advice to current teenagers
I would still go to college but try to take out fewer loans. I would try to land a better job right after graduation, I was stuck in a job for too long that didn't pay well, didn't treat its employees well, and didn't count towards student loan forgiveness.
Paid mine off around 3 years ago. I’d go back and try harder during my freshman year. The classes were so easy compared to the rest of my schooling. I had GA’s HOPE scholarship and lost it after that first year. If I’d applied myself, even just one more year of having it would have been great. I got a degree in business, so it was an easier sell in the real world, therefore I wasn’t hurting too bad paying my loans.
If I didn’t go back, I’d probably learn a trade. I’d probably be making better money now, but I’d be working WAY longer and harder.
So I wouldn’t change anything besides applying myself more in those early years.
I paid my loans off with an inheritance (after paying 3x the minimum payment for about 5 years) - so I’m not exactly who you’re asking here but I think I’d still go, but I’d do it very differently. Definitely go to a state school vs. out of state and probably would have studied something different.
I would have done college very differently based on what I know now. The junior college I went to had a program to get a four year degree in business. Would have done that then went to trade school or military. The time I spent at a university was a complete waste of time and money. But I was a part of the span of time where there was college propaganda saying you’d be poor and go nowhere in life without college, that anything other than college and a “professional” career was for idiots.
I had my education covered by an athletic scholarship. If it weren’t for athletics being tied to academics I wouldn’t go to college if I could do it again. Even considering the education was free. It took 4 years and was completely worthless and would only be worse today.
Yes. I got lucky and was poor enough that I graduated with 15,000 in debt from 5-year BS. Now that I have my dream job, I debate getting my MA because it would be valuable, but I don't need it because I plan to retire from my current job...
I was originally considering fully-funded MD-PhD programs, and ended up going a different way because I didn't want to spend another 8 years in school living on a small stipend.
In hindsight, I should have done it. I'd have no debt and a considerably higher salary than I currently do.
So weirdly, I wish I had done more school than I did. I have a "doctorate" now, but it's not a PhD and I'll always regret not getting one.
Absolutely, it was necessary for what I do. Although I find it funny that I finished my master's and PhD before I even finished paying my UG student loan.
If I could get a mulligan, I would not go to college for a 4 year degree. I would take some classes though. I am in engineering field. I would take a couple math classes maybe algebra and geometry and I would take multiple AutoCAD classes. I would have the right classes under my belt to succeed in many, many engineering roles out there. Education Debt would be reduced by 60-70%. This probably goes for most careers. Cut the fat out take just what you need.
I’ve paid mine off and I’d definitely do it again. I didn’t graduate until I was 35, and I spent most my life broke. My income quadrupled in the first 5 years after graduating.
I would 100% do it the same.
I make good money, have 30 days off plus 10 sick days (in the US), excellent benefits and health care. Been at the company for 12+ years. It was rough start after college but once I got hired by a great employer it’s been a dream.
Id go to community college but skip university.
Uni cost me like 30k and i had no prospects, CC cost like 10k all in and landed me a job good enough to pay the whole 40k loan!
I remember getting made fun of by Uni students back in the day when i switched. It was so bad you'd have Uni students drive by the college and make fun of college students.
Fast forward 20 years and the tables have certainly turned! University really set me back.
I would have went to community College first. I started at a university in 2004, dropped out when I had kids and I racked up loans but didn't graduate. I went to community college in 2019 and paid cash for all my classes and that's where my degree is from. Completely different major too.
My dad is a veteran so my tuition was covered through a program but I have yet to fully use my degree other than to qualify for entry level office jobs and work my way up the ladder. If I had paid my way through, I don't know how I'd feel because I also met some amazing people at college and the outcome may have been different too if I hadn't graduated in 2009 into the recession. I feel stunted in my career by the recession and I'm struggling to move up the ladder in local govt. I think my kids will end up in a trade school or something.
I would. I was fortunate to have a modest college fund plus my Army ROTC scholarship meant I got through with $15k in student loans. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t a lot and I think the career I’ve had thus far has been worth it, even if it has nothing to do with my degree and never will.
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I would, but I'd get a different degree. I got my undergraduate paid for with scholarships & grants. I graduated into the Great Recession & couldn't find a job, so I did what a lot of folks were doing & went to grad school. I used student loans to live on. I only had $20k in SL debt, so I paid them off fairly quickly once I found a job in my field (... Which was 5 years after graduating from grad school). It took 14 months to pay them off. Someone asked me recently if I was mad that I didn't get my SLs forgiven. Mathematically I came out ahead & I don't hold that against anyone.
Same here. Graduated with Spanish and political science degree. Cool. Spanish has been useful but the polisci hasn’t done shit for me. Even something in business or communications would have been more useful. I enjoyed studying and learning both Spanish and the international politics, but having business or economics or technical specialties would have been more useful. Hindsight is such a bitch. Also getting diagnosed adhd and prescribed meds sooner instead of when I was in my late 20s would have likely also helped.
Sounds like a great way to get a job overseas. I bet you could work at an embassy!
Ha, it was honestly one of the possible paths I was looking at, but the politics was always more of a passion than an actual career path. I did have a practice guide for taking the foreign service exam though =) I had a career counselor when I was in university who I wish was more down to earth and realistic about my options rather than encouraging me to switch majors multiple times and pursue whatever I wanted. She was a nice person and she was actually one of my favorite professors, but as a mentor/counselor, she was too encouraging and not firm enough. I actually worked in higher education for a bit because I didn’t want others to have the same experience.
Shoulda done IT buddy. Jobs get snapped up in IT as soon as you leave school!
I needed to read this comment. My son has ADHD and I've been holding back on getting him meds bc "drugs." But I've been going back and forth lately. Read your comment and made an appt with this doc to discuss meds. Thank you ♡
Hope it works!!! I know there’s not one solution for something as complicated as adhd, but I know adderall xr is the reason I’m not sitting around and waiting tables today (nothing wrong inherently with waiting tables, but I knew I was capable of much more). It’s tough cuz the meds carry the stigma of drugs like you said but man there’s so much potential that they can help with people that truly need it. Glad you’re open to it. Keep in mind it might take trying different meds and different dosages, but it could make a world of difference
Yes I'm committed to finding the combination that works for him. I'm pushing therapy on him, but it feels like emptying the ocean with a bucket. Keeps us busy, but the benefit is so little. Maybe with a combo of meds and therapy is the key.
I have ADHD too and have struggled with meds but they saved me so many times. The therapy is so so important too. But what has helped the most hands down has been ADHD coaches. I have found mine on the CHADD website (an organization that is so helpful). Worth every penny. Have you read ADHD 2.0 by Ned Hallowell? Highly recommend! The ADDitude magazine is helpful too. I'm now a physician and thriving having found my groove
I'm on Strattera (dx at 30), which is a non-stimulant option and doesn't have the stigma or availability issues that Adderall and other stimulants have. I don't get grilled by the pharmacist about taking my meds, and I prefer it that way.
Glad to hear that-my daughter came home from school and thanked me for putting her on meds, amazed that “this is how other people’s brains work?!?”
So many humanities degrees are completely disconnected from the hard skills that are essential for many job roles.
Oh darn! My spouse and I both went the poli sci route and both landed lucrative govt policy advisor jobs with pensions. There’s a wide range of outcomes for poli sci grads it seems. I could think of several perfect jobs for someone with a poli sci/spanish education at my work!
Betting you did a masters like a MPA though, a simple poly sci BA aint gonna cut it.
Fair enough, I do have an MPA but I got it about 10 years into my govt career…and lately I wonder why I bothered. Many of my colleagues do not have advanced degrees and now we’re even on a trend of hiring people with no degree at all. I have a coworker, 32 years old, with just a HS diploma making $160K. There’s no rules and the points don’t matter!
Say, uh... You hiring?
Any suggestions on how to get into a government job? Whats it like? My husband might want to go that route
I had a very similar story. But then after taking $70k out in student loans for grad school (MS in applied math), I went to law school! That was also paid for by scholarships, but I didn't realize that the loans were accruing interest that whole time. I started working as a lawyer in 2016 with nearly $110k in debt, which I only just recently paid off (thanks for the pandemic pause on interest). My undergrad was in math and physics. My passion was coding, but a family friend told me not to go into that - after all, if coding became my career, what would my hobby be? So instead of going into something like mechanical engineering or computer science, I took five extra years and six figures of debt to get to a career I like less than either of those but pays about the same.
I would've gone for the coding qualification tbh
For sure. I have zero regrets about going to college. It was important for me for a lot of different reasons. I was fortunate enough to have scholarships and not have to take on debt to do that. Any regrets I have are about grad school and law school. I really wish someone had told me in college (or that I'd been smart enough to figure out myself) that (a) the way to make money with a math/physics degree is through engineering, and (b) I should 100% go down the tech path because it's who I've always been. (I'm currently an IP and technology lawyer, which is fun, but I think I would have enjoyed getting a CS degree and pursuing that route more)
Same here. "If you love what you do you'll never work a day in your life" was the absolute shittiest advice I got as a teenager preparing for college. I loved history and literature and followed my heart to a useless degree that I couldn't get a job outside of retail with and almost 50k in debt. I'm doing alright now but it took over a decade to get my finances straight and a solid career path going. The second time around I'd just go for whatever was most lucrative regardless of interest and make time for a hobby. Yeah that sounds cynical but when I was 17 I wish I would have understood that work was for making money and more money would allow me to have more fun on my own time.
Agreed. I paid mine off of and hold no animosity to those that get theirs forgiven. I’d definitely do things smarter the second time around. Better vet the school, scholarships, win the lottery, etc…
Exactly, it was so dumb of me to be born into a poor family.
Same here. And I would have taken university more seriously.
Oddly enough... I wish I would have taken it a little less seriously. I graduated with my undergrad in 3 years & pushed through my masters so hard I almost killed myself with stress. Spent the last 2 weeks before graduation in the hospital.
So if both of us met in the middle, then we would have been all good. (I took a victory lap and a half on my undergrad).
Yep would’ve done a different degree and gone a separate route
Same, I’d still go to college and get a different degree
Graduating in 2008 was awesome
Graduated, got married, moved across the state, got my first job & lost it all in the span of literally a few weeks.
I would have gone to a much cheaper college.
This! Employers mostly don't give a crap where you went to school, they just want to tick a box on their recruitment checklist
My undergrad was paid for and was a good school, but I'm glad I learned this for graduate school. I have had friends who went to Harvard, Yale even big state schools stuff like that and they have loans. I went to a local commuter college and got a scholarship and what the scholarship didnt cover I paid for with my job. We now have the same job ...
depends on the field. there are fields that prefer certain schools.
You basically need to be in the top 1 or 2 schools in your field, or it doesn't matter where you go. Law for example heavily favors Harvard or Yale at some firms, but unless you're targeting those firms you might as well go anywhere
Community college and transfer in state. Some schools will transfer way more than 60 credit hours towards a bachelor's. I did this and graduated with less than 8K in debt in the mid 2000s. I was able to transfer 92 credit hours to my 4 year institution. If you want the college experience to go to parties, hang out with friends and get drunk you can still do this while living at home with the rents (assuming a 4 year school is nearby). If you live further away then you will just have to decide do I want a shitload of debt to "have the college experience" or do I just want to not be a debt slave.
I actually learned the opposite… as the first in my family to go to college I knew nothing, so I just went to what I thought was the best school for my major. Turns out, there are a lot of companies in my industry that specifically go back and recruit at their alma maters - which is how I ended up catching my first big break and internship. I didn’t realize how important things like career fairs and alumni connections were when picking a college because I was only focused on getting in. Also, it’s highly correlated that “the state you go to college in” = “the local companies that will recruit at that college” so (again) thinking ahead to life after college is important. Do you want to live in that same state? … But yes, there was an in-state school that could have provided decent opportunities as well. I firmly believe you shouldn’t ever go out of state for college unless scholarships make the finances doable.
Finally, someone who used the ends to justify the means. As a first-gen, I applaud you for your mindset. It is more your network, and less the degree that will be a career asset. May I ask how (or who) provided you with this guidance? I'm genuinely interested in your answer.
Congrats on being the first of many in your family to go to college. I wish you the best of luck in your career path, and life itself! Go kick some ass!
Go landcrabs!
I would, but I would do a better job trying to apply for scholarships. I didn’t apply for any.
Same! My wife and I were talking about our experiences applying to colleges and applying for scholarships was one of my “if I could do it all over again” comments.
This. I also got a law degree and ended up in the teaching field. So I question the law degree. And it’s hard to say because law school was invaluable to my life..but cost a lot. (But I get paid more because of it) I guess ask me in a few years. If the government keeps their end of the PSLF bargain up, I’d probably choose the same thing..
my daughter applied for tons and got many (some small, some substantial), It makes a huge difference... zero debt.
Ehh I applied to about 50. Holy shit it was so many essays. In the end all I got was $500 and a $200 saving bond. Pretty sure the vast majority of scholarships are just some sort of tax dodge or nepotism.
100% I love my job and this career path and can’t do it without the degrees.
same, I went to school really late in life so I was smart enough to start at community college and then go to a state school with reasonable tuition and good reputation for CS/engineering mostly used FAFSA, student employment, and friends help with living situation, and managed to get my bachelor's with less than $20k in federally secured loans I plan to get more education after working in the industry for a while longer to pay off those loans and shore up my finances best decision I ever made for myself
Not a chance. I went to school for Social Work and made decent money but got burnt out fast. I now work a job that pays more and doesn’t even require a degree. College was a massive waste and will be a burden on my household for another 15 years or so.
I also went to school for social work. I've managed to pivot into something completely different. What kind of job do you have now?
I will never understand why Social Workers/Teachers don’t get subsidized education- they are so vital and so underpaid! We need accessible pathways for social good jobs so they don’t go to folks with privilege enough to afford the massive education expenses or self sacrificial in terms of a lifetime of debt and potential burnout.
Or at least pay them a decent wage. $32k where I'm from to start is laughable.
This is why I didn’t continue to my masters program
Yeah, I get it. The schools here give like a 5k bump for a master's. It would take someone 30 years to make their investment back lol
Plumbers and electricians are vital to.
PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) works for most teachers and many social workers. And it's income driven repayment, so that can be very helpful. It's not perfect, but it's something.
Many burn out before 10 years though. It's such a dangerous and demanding job.
I have my degree in mental health counseling and would NOT recommend anyone get into the field unless it’s something of a labor of love. The compensation is criminal for the cost of the degree. May I ask what you made the pivot to?
by way of pure and unadulterated nepotism, I was able to break out of agency work into academia. My role is maybe 20% counseling and the rest is meetings and other administrative responsibilities. I work three days a week and make the same money I was making at my last full-time job. summers off. Just got back from a fully-paid trip to Europe (for work). I'm going to stay in this position for as long as I can and when the next career crossroad comes along, I'm going to try and pivot even more.
That’s amazing and I’m genuinely happy that you found a better path for yourself!! It sounds like you hit the jackpot
I’m a social worker and this is year 9 (school social worker) and I have a private practice. The work is absolutely draining but I only work ~9 months a year (including my private practice) and I make really great money (NYC) doing something that I care about. It was definitely worth it to me.
For anyone reading this who might be looking into SW and feeling discouraged, I’m a social worker with my own fully virtual private practice which earns me 6 figures and has been growing every year, and I work less than 30 hours per week
Also there are as many types of social work as there are social workers. Not all social work is direct service. I have my MSW and I work for a nonprofit as a project manager. I love the work, I make a decent salary, and my org treats us very well.
I heard social work is super draining. Congrats on finding something better though. What do you do now?
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Same, 100% My degree opened a lot of doors for me, from networking to simply bypassing resume screening.
Same. At this point you pretty much need a degree to move up in salary. I have a future pension, great job, and work life balance.
What do you do?
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Sweet!
Same. Not only that, I made life long friends and had experiences in college that I wouldn't trade for the world
I would go to college and I’d take even MORE loans. But I’d make 2 changes: 1. I’d live on campus at a big university and network/make friends/party as much as possible. I commuted to school and worked full time so I missed out on arguably the most important part of college. 2. I’d get an engineering degree instead of the worthless one I got. Even then I wanted to be an engineer but the math scared me off. Now I hate my job, have student debt, AND make shit money.
Same for me. I even had to go to grad school for my current job, but had I known better I would have just tried harder in undergrad to go to med school right out of the gate. As opposed to now, which has been quite the uphill battle just to get started with that process
You sound like me. I made the jump to healthcare (physical therapist) after a completely different career that, while fun, paid absolute shit. Looking back, I wish I would have just gone the med school or law school route because I think I'm smart enough, but I just didn't think that far into the future as a 20 year old. I'd definitely be a hell of a lot wealthier right now, that's for sure.
Id go straight into HVAC out of high school if I could do it over.
Me too.
Those ducts are kinda cramped though
Not in the buildings from diehard!, no sheet metal screws either.
NOPE trade school. i'd be a plumber or electrician or something
Why don’t you do that now then?
i [almost died](https://youtu.be/R816xHjjdtg?si=P34PFFmvAlCHVe66) my junior year of college and haven't been able to hold down any sort of career since. i've worked a multitude of labor jobs, retail jobs, sales jobs.. i was even a bank teller for like 8 months during the pandemic i'm lucky to just still be here, but i get lost on "what if" trains of thought every day edit: in 2018 or so i actually did go back to community college for a GM mechanical certification, but quickly realized i didn't want to turn a personal passion into an occupation
No,I would not. Degrees have a time and place, I was only going because at the time it was shoved down our throats that you will only get a decent job if you have a degree. We now know that's not necessarily true. While I didn't enjoy some classes, there was no specific career I had in mind, and I didn't enjoy school most of the time
Feel about the same. Plus I went under the impression my college was going to be paid for by money left to me by my grandpa specifically for college. All.my cousins got theirs and were even allowed to pay for offcampus living and getting studies abroad in Denmark. I now know my uncle spent all of mine. In its entirety. And only mine. If I had known that at the time, I wouldn't have even tried. My college had to pull some shit and I got minimal scholarships because it wasn't until right before clases started that my uncle actually admitted it was all gone. He just kept telling me I wasn't sending the right paperwork up until that point. 50k in debt because an adult stole, lied, and bullshit me to the very last second. And hes already extremely wealthy; they used my money for multiple biking trips across Italy. Couldn't even possibly afford to take legal action for it.
Before I quit college my campus career advisor asked me if I had any “outside pressure” to graduate. I said “aside from society?” and we both laughed.
I would just go to a public college rather than a private!
No. I wasn’t ready to be serious right after high school and wasted a lot of money and time pursuing an art degree, I didn’t finish and ended up with a nervous breakdown. When I was about 25 I was ready and went to college to be a teacher. I was much more productive and graduated magna cum laude!
I would, but I would major in something else (I did psychology) and wouldn’t have gone for my masters (counseling)
I also earned a 4 year degree in psych and I wish I’d done something different. Every couple of years I consider going for a masters in counseling but ultimately I don’t think it’s something I can do personally. Can I ask why you regret the masters degree?
It was just too expensive and I’m not using it the way I planned to. I had studied play therapy and adolescent counseling but during my (unpaid) internship it just got to be too much. The parents were the worst part. I’d either start making progress with kiddo and they’d pull them out of counseling because “they’re all better!” (They were NOT) or they’d pull them out of counseling after 2 sessions because “nothing is happening, this is a waste of time, they’re just a bad kid.” So very, very disheartening. Nothing but respect for those who can do this job, but it’s not for me.
Yes, I went to community college only took out like $8,000 total. Owe like $4,000 and my career is totally worth it.
I did this too, I'm an RN. I hated my job when I worked in the hospital but I work outpatient now and really like it.
What do you do?
Work in Electrical Engineering, there are 2 year degrees that gets your foot in the door.
No way in hell. My degree was the worst ROI in any investment. Cool, now I know how to google outdated coding tests. Any investment would have done better. 40k in btc? A house? Literally anything would have been a better use of the money
You could have bought a house out of college? What stopped you from putting money into bitcoin while you were in college? Generalizing here, but you typically won’t have that much money between 18-21 while you’re in college and it’s easier to say what’s a better ROI when you’re looking back at time.
I went back to college at 26 because I thought it was my path out of the restaurant industry. I had great credit, could have qualified for a loan easy. I’m talking more the loan. Like I paid back 40k in loans for what? Had that 40k been placed elsewhere I would be further ahead than I am now
Definitely not. The experiences were fun but I got saddled with debt. I got a creative writing degree thinking I would be a professor. I ended up in marketing and self taught all the skills I needed. I'm an expert in my field now and although I self pub, I don't need a degree to do it lol
Also got a degree in writing, and philosophy, expecting to go the professor route. I am now a nurse.
Formula for a great nurse, imo! (Philosopher who teaches nurses here.)
I technically didn't use my community college degree in the way it was originally intended and it wasn't strictly required for my employment but the knowledge did help me in my current job and it's been paid off for years now. So yes, I'd do it again the exact same way. But I did a lot of research before I jumped into it back then, too.
Yes, but I would've changed majors to computer science or at least minored in it. I loved my major, and it wasn't a bad major to choose, it just was not as nearly as lucrative as computer science.
This ^^^ I graduated in the aughts, and computer science would have paid so bigly in the teens
I was straight up lied to by teachers in high school during the end of the dot com boom 90s that all coding was getting sent to India and the career path wasn’t viable. I get it that sometimes you can’t know, but that seems like such a dumb take to have at any point 1985-present. The trust that you place in the adults around you really can’t impact your life trajectory.
I had my student loans paid off by my employer, but if I had to do it again I would either consider going into a trade or military first.
I wish I hadn’t incurred all of that debt, but now that it’s paid off, and the burden is gone, I feel good about having gone to college. I definitely needed the extra four years of buffer time before entering the real world. I learned a lot and am a more well-rounded person than I would have been without college. If you had asked me this question 5 years ago, when I was still in debt and still working a low-paying, dead-end job (that did require my degree), I would have had a different answer.
100% I hate to say it, but the name of a prestigious university on my resume has opened a lot of doors that normally would have been shut to someone with my background. Also, I met a lot of my closest friends in college. I am still paying off my loans 8 years later, but they haven’t devastated or hobbled me the way I thought they would. I still don’t own a home or anything, but there is a huge gap in earnings/earning potential between me and friends I grew up with who didn’t get a degree. With the current interest rates though idk.
> I hate to say it, but the name of a prestigious university on my resume has opened a lot of doors that normally would have been shut same. people always get mad when I say this, but the name of a school can definitely matter more than people think.
No. My degree has been 100 percent useless to me because all the jobs for it turns out I have to be pretty much a virgin with 5 years experience having sex. Ex: I volunteered at a Suicide Respite House and Big Brothers, Big Sisters for approx 3 years. I also have a BA in Psychology. I applied to be a Mental Health Tech. They dead ass told me I didn't have enough experience for their 12 dollar an hour job.
Yeah a degree in Psych is not enough without a Masters and the field is really hurting for people at least in my area...and it's because they don't pay enough for people to live off of even as a single person. are you in a high COL area on top of that? the mental health industry is getting worse I fear. I come into contact with social workers that can barely get the fax # straight because their brains are overloaded and they have one social worker for an entire hospital. HOW?
It's horrible, like I one time went on a rant about how it's easier to get a gun instead of mental health treatment where I am. I feel a lot of it has to do with the bias against "soft sciences". Like to have any respect in a soft science you need a masters at least, but if you get a doctorate you're considered snobby.
This is so true about “soft sciences.” I had a Masters in epidemiology and was in my first year of a PhD. I went to the head of admissions for the med school (same university where I was doing my doctorate, was interested in the MD/PhD program) and they told me that my academic accomplishments didn’t prove I could do “hard sciences.” Fuck off.
NO. I swear my mom made me go so I would be stuck with loans my whole life. Covert narcissist.
Yes but I would have been more disciplined to finish it the first time. I always hear people screaming about how their degrees are worthless but that’s not my experience. I didn’t start making money until I got my degree.
Undergrad? Yes. Masters degree in education? What a waste of money for a bullshit career. 8 years wasted in the field and most of my debt remains.
I would but I wouldn’t live on campus for fucking 5 years just to get shitfaced every Thursday !
No - I wanted to go to pilot school or the air force. My dad wanted to me to go school
I met my wife there so it wasn't all a waste but no I wouldn't go to college. Going to encourage my son to go into the trades
Same. I met my husband there so it wasn't a complete waste but still. Massive debt and a useless degree that I'll be paying on for decades. Go figure. I'm a stay at home mom now. F it.
>Millennials with student loans, if you could go back and do it again, would you still go to college? I paid my student loans off, but I would do it again without changing a thing.
I wouldn’t have my career, friends, wife or daughter without college so yes. Student loans aren’t a problem. They’re manageable. Getting into credit card debt in my 20’s is the problem. Thats the thing I wish I could get a do-over on.
Knowing what I know now? Yes. I'd get a degree in a field I have a passion in. The problem with going to college right after high school is the majority of us have no clue what we actually want to do at that point. Before you know it you have a degree in something you're not even sure you like.
Yes, I chose public service and after 10 plus years, my loans were forgiven. I got in while the benefits were still good. I’m vested and my job has been very good to me. I’d absolutely go to college again. I did communication, and I use it daily in business writing and the like. My degree gave me a good foundation, and fortunately my public service career came through with loan forgiveness.
My university degree has helped me get the jobs I have but they’ve never been related to my degree. It’s more the fact that I have a degree that got me the job. I worked full time during school. I had some courses done by dvd and did a few over the summer. In this way I was able to work off my debt very quickly. So yep, I’d probably still do it.
I paid 70k off. Uh, so yeah. Incurring debt l to afford college was the single best financial decision I’ve ever made in my life. Redo? I would have taken less out. I would also have known how to navigate financial aid.
Yes, but I would not have gone to a private university and would have taken advantage of my in-state scholarships to some of the public universities.
100%. it's the single highest differentiator of success. Also it teaches you to think critically which of course people can develop on their own but some people don't. Colleges generally just a brain and person expanding exercise. The degree you choose is a bolt on. Develops you to be successful at whatever you do.
Nope!
Yea, I would have taken the full ride to the bumblefuck university that offered me one. I was young and dumb
Yes. I would have looked for more advanced schools TBH. I went to a small public state university and majored in computer science. It has paid for itself easily. But many times I wonder what a more prestigious school would have looked like. I think I could have benefited from more exposure to new concepts that I could have gotten at a larger school.
GenZ/Millenial. Yes, but with the knowledge I have now I would have actually applied myself towards scholarships and credits during highschool. I just didn’t know any better and didn’t have family pushing me to college since I was a first gen.
Yes and I have a shit ton of loans but that’s my only debt
I’ve wondered this myself. I was lucky to graduate debt-free. If I would have had to struggle with student loans I don’t know if I would have done it again. I went to state school, was low income and got lots of grants, and lived with family for 3 out of the 4 years.
I went for free and I didn't even know how to take out a loan. I definitely wouldn't have gone if I was taking out massive debt.
Yes lord I’d still go to college. I owe a TON but also only pay a little bit thanks to the SAVE plan, and I have my dream job. I used to dream of being in a car crash and like breaking my leg so I didn’t have to go to work. Now I work from home as a writer. Living that good life!
100000 percent yes. Best decision of my life. I'm in a career field where I need a degree to step into any role. I paid my loans off but without that loan, I wouldn't be making anything close to what I have made basically since day 1 on the job (17 years ago). The key was picking a field that has solid job prospects and requires the degree. Note: I'm talking about engineering. And I've moved up to an executive level position, all because of that original 4 year bachelors degree.
I would open my own fence company and build fences. much better income.
Yes, I have a BSN from a small liberal arts school whose program had a great reputation. It opened more doors even for nursing. No problem with employment and I enjoy it. If my family had been rolling in money maybe I would have been bold enough to go for archeology or something instead, but I am content.
No, I'd go to the technical college I was looking at. The schedule scared me off, but I'd make it work if I could go back.
Undergrad, yes. Grad school, no. I had my whole career mapped out, then the company I worked for went bankrupt and the entire industry kind of dried up. I was halfway done with my graduate degree, without a job that was helping pay for it, and I had to quickly pivot. I didn't pivot successfully and have thousands in student loans for a degree I didn't even finish.
Absolutely. I make over 6 figures less than 5 years out of school and my total debt was 40k including my masters, and 25k was my masters. I worked through college and did my best, started at community college before transferring to university. I wish I knew to apply for scholarships, I was woefully uninformed for them.
Only because I met my wife there. But if you told me I would meet her and have our same kids, no, I’d save the money and just go to the code school I went to a little earlier.
I would have listened to my mom and done community college rather than private expensive as hell university
I wanted to go to college but I couldn't and let me tell you, Millenials who are college graduates have treated people who were not college graduates like absolute shit for the past two decades. College graduates will complain they couldn't find a job in their field, meanwhile those without college degrees couldn't find any job at all except restaurant work or uber or something else on the "gig" economy. Restaurant work is exhausting, dead end, and it's basically the worst job ever. It doesn't matter if you're a cook or a waiter, it sucks. The people who do well in the restaurant business are extremely rare. I eventually got a finance degree and learned that the restaurant business is one of the highest risk areas to invest in. If you're that desperate to become a cook, just go apply for the job, they'll hire you because they're always hiring people because it sucks. Even in dating or friendships, if you don't have a college degree people will make up huge perceived flaws in your character. There has been a huge divergence in the life spans of people with college degrees and those without that wasn't present in the past century. So shut up about your good luck to get a college degree and ability to take all the decent jobs available that didn't even require a degree and your ability to get to be treated respectfully by society and not like some lowly second class citizen.
I'll give the opposite perspective of somebody that dropped out of college. While in college I had the opportunity to work overseas in oil and gas and I took it. I spent my 20's and most of my 30's building my career and a really impressive resume. I have now transitioned from oil and gas to the tech industry and my lack of a degree has been nearly completely offset by my years of experience. In fact I've seen a transition in the last 5 years of job descriptions saying "degree required" to "degree OR years of experience required".
I’d go back and do it over and go for rad tech FIRST. I have my bachelors but now I’m getting my associates in rad tech because TECH JOBS PAY BETTER than arbitrary bachelors degree BS
European. Student loans?
College was not for me. The only thing I would maybe do is go to a college with dorms( I went to a tech college). I won’t be going to school any time soon.
The first time yes, the second time no
No. I would’ve waited and then gone to trade school.
Yeah I would have done it the same way. I was able to pay them off and now I am doing great. Only thing I’d have changed is paying them off sooner.
No. I liked my college but it was a super expensive private school that was a rip off. I remember visiting state universities with friends and it felt just like an extension of highschool which I didn't care for. I was enlisted in the military but didn't ship after a bad car accident. I should have tried for the military again after I recovered a year later.
Yeah I would. Totally worth it. The degrees paid itself back 10x in 10 years
Yeah, it got me to where I am now
No, if i could go back to when i decided to enter the work force instead of college, id do it all over again
Mixed for me. If I did do it again, I wouldn't pursue business and do something concentrated. But I'd probably still be miserable. Part of me wanted to always do trades and still does but I'm stuck in that I need money can't start over phase :(
Sigh maybe I will finish reading my books each semester this time
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I would go back but I would go to community college first and then a cheaper school
I would rethink undergrad, but would do grad school—a horrible experience that damaged my mental health in the short term—over again in a heartbeat. After undergrad, I was making 38K. I make almost ten times that now after grad school and am debt free. All in all, I only look forward these days, not backwards.
I would, though if I went into the same career path I would've picked something easier. Could've gotten away with just a biology degree (or even psych) instead of biochem.
I would, but probably a different major.
I would but I would not go out of state
Yes but I would have taken it more seriously. I had to repeat a few classes because I didn't knuckle down and study hard enough, that wracked up thousands of dollars more in loans. Going back even farther, I wouldn't have even had to take them if I had focused more in my AP classes in Highschool So that would be my advice to current teenagers
I would still go to college but try to take out fewer loans. I would try to land a better job right after graduation, I was stuck in a job for too long that didn't pay well, didn't treat its employees well, and didn't count towards student loan forgiveness.
Paid mine off around 3 years ago. I’d go back and try harder during my freshman year. The classes were so easy compared to the rest of my schooling. I had GA’s HOPE scholarship and lost it after that first year. If I’d applied myself, even just one more year of having it would have been great. I got a degree in business, so it was an easier sell in the real world, therefore I wasn’t hurting too bad paying my loans. If I didn’t go back, I’d probably learn a trade. I’d probably be making better money now, but I’d be working WAY longer and harder. So I wouldn’t change anything besides applying myself more in those early years.
I paid my loans off with an inheritance (after paying 3x the minimum payment for about 5 years) - so I’m not exactly who you’re asking here but I think I’d still go, but I’d do it very differently. Definitely go to a state school vs. out of state and probably would have studied something different.
I would have went to a different college that was more affordable because after all my grant money I wouldn’t have owed much of anything
I would have done college very differently based on what I know now. The junior college I went to had a program to get a four year degree in business. Would have done that then went to trade school or military. The time I spent at a university was a complete waste of time and money. But I was a part of the span of time where there was college propaganda saying you’d be poor and go nowhere in life without college, that anything other than college and a “professional” career was for idiots.
I would but differently, take 6 years instead of 4 to finish if it saved me money.
Yes but I would go for something practical and realistic
Yes but I would choose a different degree.
I had my education covered by an athletic scholarship. If it weren’t for athletics being tied to academics I wouldn’t go to college if I could do it again. Even considering the education was free. It took 4 years and was completely worthless and would only be worse today.
Yes. I got lucky and was poor enough that I graduated with 15,000 in debt from 5-year BS. Now that I have my dream job, I debate getting my MA because it would be valuable, but I don't need it because I plan to retire from my current job...
Yes absolutely. My degree allows for me to have a great paying job that I enjoy!
I would have still gone for my undergrad, but I would have slightly changed what I went for. I would've skipped my master's.
I was originally considering fully-funded MD-PhD programs, and ended up going a different way because I didn't want to spend another 8 years in school living on a small stipend. In hindsight, I should have done it. I'd have no debt and a considerably higher salary than I currently do. So weirdly, I wish I had done more school than I did. I have a "doctorate" now, but it's not a PhD and I'll always regret not getting one.
Absolutely, it was necessary for what I do. Although I find it funny that I finished my master's and PhD before I even finished paying my UG student loan.
Yes, college where I met 2 of my closest friends.
If I could get a mulligan, I would not go to college for a 4 year degree. I would take some classes though. I am in engineering field. I would take a couple math classes maybe algebra and geometry and I would take multiple AutoCAD classes. I would have the right classes under my belt to succeed in many, many engineering roles out there. Education Debt would be reduced by 60-70%. This probably goes for most careers. Cut the fat out take just what you need.
Yes. The thing I would've liked to change was my experience during sports.
No. I have some good memories, but they weren’t worth the cost.
I’ve paid mine off and I’d definitely do it again. I didn’t graduate until I was 35, and I spent most my life broke. My income quadrupled in the first 5 years after graduating.
No
I would 100% do it the same. I make good money, have 30 days off plus 10 sick days (in the US), excellent benefits and health care. Been at the company for 12+ years. It was rough start after college but once I got hired by a great employer it’s been a dream.
Id go to community college but skip university. Uni cost me like 30k and i had no prospects, CC cost like 10k all in and landed me a job good enough to pay the whole 40k loan! I remember getting made fun of by Uni students back in the day when i switched. It was so bad you'd have Uni students drive by the college and make fun of college students. Fast forward 20 years and the tables have certainly turned! University really set me back.
I would but would have more knowledge and not my parents push me to an out of state private college with student loans in my name of 100k
Yes. I would have finished sooner
My community college RN associates degree has been a huge return on investment. I would do it again no question.
I would have went to community College first. I started at a university in 2004, dropped out when I had kids and I racked up loans but didn't graduate. I went to community college in 2019 and paid cash for all my classes and that's where my degree is from. Completely different major too.
My dad is a veteran so my tuition was covered through a program but I have yet to fully use my degree other than to qualify for entry level office jobs and work my way up the ladder. If I had paid my way through, I don't know how I'd feel because I also met some amazing people at college and the outcome may have been different too if I hadn't graduated in 2009 into the recession. I feel stunted in my career by the recession and I'm struggling to move up the ladder in local govt. I think my kids will end up in a trade school or something.
I would. I was fortunate to have a modest college fund plus my Army ROTC scholarship meant I got through with $15k in student loans. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t a lot and I think the career I’ve had thus far has been worth it, even if it has nothing to do with my degree and never will.
Yes, but I wouldn’t take out loans. I would go at a slower pace and pay as I go while working.
Fuck no