Student Loan Debt Whining

[TipsE-Z]

Well, I'm not sure if this belongs here or in the Political Arena but I just wanted to get some thoughts/discussion going on this one...

All these kids are whining about Student Loan debt, no jobs, or low paying jobs for the Liberal Arts degree they got (want a decent job/pay, get a BS, not BA). I have developed a tried and true solution for them, from the kid with $20k in debt to the woman recently graduating Med School with $1M in debt... JOIN THE MILITARY as an Officer! Serve your 8 years to fulfill your Selective Service requirement, get your student loans paid off, then serve your fellow man, and fluff your resume nicely.

Bottom line, Serve Your Country = Serve Yourself = Serve Your Finances

Thoughts on my ranting?

[Kodiak Spirit]

you are using the wrong words... I don't think the current grads can use the word "Serve" in the present vernacular. The country has promoted a dependant lifestyle and those that have been dependants their whole lives are not interested in severing that dependance. Oh how far have we come from our declaration of independance...

[RAT]

Anyone that has taken out student loans knows how rediculous the paybacks can be. Having said that, the loan papers were there for you to read before you signed, so grab a kleenex, clean the snot bubbles outcher nose holes and grow up. The scary part is that these kids will be the ones we have to depend on down the road. Filling my mattress with cash... Now!

[TipsE-Z]

Yes, I keep a little bit of cash on hand as well. It's a must with the way we are going. I agree too on the poor choice of words and on kids not reading. I'm a fairly young guy, but I READ anything/everything in full before I sign. Talk about ticking a recruiter off! Poor guy had to draft up my contract three times before I would sign. Got an extra 50k for school and ensured myself SD for my duty station. If folks don't have in foresight to join the services, even the Air Force or Coast Guard (less dangerous perceptions) then they should have the hind sight to join up and continue to further themselves and rectify the debt they have incurred. The Armed Forces may not cover all your debt for some degrees, but getting a majority of it covered while building your resume, AND getting a pay check seems like a good deal to me!

Name any other employer that will do that?

[daniel_buck]

As one who thankfully didn't have student loans (thanks to scholarships!), I'm glad I wasn't faced with this situation. I am proud of those who serve like my father and grandfather, but it's not for me.

To play the other side of the issue, the thought of an 8 year gap from your schooling until you try to find a job in the field that you studied in doesn't sound to promising.

Sure maybe now you loans are paid off, but in the 8 years you've been serving you may not be fresh up on the field you studied in anymore, in some areas of work technology and techniques change fairly rapidly, and if you aren't actively working with those changes you can be left far behind. Even if there aren't many changes, you could just out right forget alot of things. 8 years can be a huge gap in some fields. A resume fluff might be nice, but in some fields your resume doesn't mean crap if you can't actually do the work good and fast

It may work for some fields, but not all I think.

[Kodiak Spirit]

I had plenty of time when I was in the military to take college courses and refresher courses, don't assume that it would be 8 years of isolation- if anyone is serious about their chosen field they will find plenty of support and extra duty to keep themselves fresh while serving. Heck, since they won't 'need' income because they will have income, they may find some time to do volonteer work in their field and make the contacts they need to so when they finish their service they already have a job waiting.

Someone would have to be motivated to do any of this of course...

[TipsE-Z]

X2 on this. I've seen friends (wished I'd have been this wise) who kept working towards a PMP Cert and/or PE Cert while they were active duty. They were able to get out and do quite well, sure it sucked for them at times, but in the end they say it was worth it.

I'm with Daniel as well, my son has a college fund being built up right now. I'd rather him have the choice of military service, rather than the requirement.

[aw12345]

take a loan against your 401K next to no interest, then pay that off, will save you a load of cash

[JeepGal]

Maybe kids need to research their career path a bit more before committing to a degree that gets them no where.

My duaghter Christina graduated last year at 20 years old with a degree in Psychology ( with honors even), with a certificate in working with Autistic kids. She had a job in here career path two months after graduation working at Easter Seals as a Behavioral Interventionist. StartIng salary just under 40k with full benefits and 401k.

She planned her future, it was no accident.

[RAT]

Maybe kids need to research their career path a bit more before committing to a degree that gets them no where.

My duaghter Christina graduated last year at 20 years old with a degree in Psychology ( with honors even), with a certificate in working with Autistic kids. She had a job in here career path two months after graduation working at Easter Seals as a Behavioral Interventionist. StartIng salary just under 40k with full benefits and 401k.

She planned her future, it was no accident.

That's awesome! Good for her. Can she prescribe meds????? Huh? Huh?

[Kodiak Spirit]

Congrats on having a hand in raising success!

[6spdYJ]

You don't have to be an officer to get good training that translates. I knew guys in the field that I wish I was smart enough to retain half of what they'd forgotten. Even a rock can learn to apply himself to learn skills and the talent to translate them to prospective employers. Once the future boss realizes that an MOS equals skills with discipline, the doors open. Being able to sell this understanding to them eliminates the gap between training and work. It goes from training to experience to work.

[daniel_buck]

You don't have to be an officer to get good training that translates. I knew guys in the field that I wish I was smart enough to retain half of what they'd forgotten. Even a rock can learn to apply himself to learn skills and the talent to translate them to prospective employers. Once the future boss realizes that an MOS equals skills with discipline, the doors open. Being able to sell this understanding to them eliminates the gap between training and work. It goes from training to experience to work.

again, depends on what field you are in. I doubt you'll get much Visual Effects training in the Military

[brokenujoint]

Yes, I keep a little bit of cash on hand as well. It's a must with the way we are going. I agree too on the poor choice of words and on kids not reading. I'm a fairly young guy, but I READ anything/everything in full before I sign. Talk about ticking a recruiter off! Poor guy had to draft up my contract three times before I would sign. Got an extra 50k for school and ensured myself SD for my duty station. If folks don't have in foresight to join the services, even the Air Force or Coast Guard (less dangerous perceptions) then they should have the hind sight to join up and continue to further themselves and rectify the debt they have incurred. The Armed Forces may not cover all your debt for some degrees, but getting a majority of it covered while building your resume, AND getting a pay check seems like a good deal to me!

Name any other employer that will do that?

I can name mine. Delta Airlines. They pay a large % if employee's wish to go to school. I get a pay check, free flight benefits, health benefits, 401k match up to 7%, stocks, 25% off my cell phone bill, 1/2 off at many public attractions, company discounts with brand name companies and they treat you with complete respect. There is more to life than joining the forces although it's a good option, it isn't always for everyone. I was no spoon fed. I went to school to be an RN at a community college. Got tired of waiting to be accepted into the program and decided to go into an aviation maintenance program instead. Two yrs later and about 1200 in tuition I earned my license. I'm paying tuition on some stupid computer trade school that I never even put to use. I can only imagine high profession student loans. Sometimes we do what we gotta do. As said,the military isn't for everyone. I have turned in 4 AWOL's in the past 8 months at Lindbergh field.

[inVERt'D]

You can join the military to get all those benefits, a stable career, etc., but I don't think those are the best motivations. They're not the right ones for me, anyway. The serving your country aspect has always held more attraction for me, but that's where things get derailed too. I realized a long time ago that I can't trust those clowns in Washington, so I'd feel like a fool to sign up and find myself bleeding and killing for some lost cause somewhere in Quackistan.

Look at the colossal waste of money and lives just since 2001. Just to arm our enemies. Winning hearts and minds in Afghanistan?? That has to be the most asinine idea that any army has ever been mobilized for. No wonder people are coming back and shooting themselves. Tragic.

Nothing against people in the military, but I think their blood is being wasted on foreign soil while our country is being sold down the river. Not for, unfortunately.