Student loans and salary survey

[Anonymous]

How much do you have in loans ? - $12k left which is being paid off next month (finally)
What is your salary? - $104k
How much do you pay monthly?[list] - $500-$1000
Were the student loans worth it/ would you take them on again? - 100% worth it. School cost me $90k, I'm currently making $104k and will max out career wise around $200k. Without it at my previous career I would max at $70k.

[Anonymous]

Had $11k in SL with bachelors. Masters paid by employer.
Paid off in less than 10yrs.
Remember my payment being somewhere between $100-$150.
Salary is $102k. Nowhere near DC, much lower COL. It goes far here.

My student loan was more of an annoyance than anything. Glad it was paid off between 5-10yrs ago (can't remember exactly when). Would I do it again? In a way I'm doing it again because my kids are both under the age of 6 and their prepaid college funds are 100% funded. But if it were me at 18 in the same situation again, sure, I'd go for a small student loan. Probably not more than $20k unless I was guaranteed a high income upon graduation.

[Anonymous]

$0 in student loans - full rides for undergrad and grad school
Current salary is $107k (age 34)
I'm very glad I didn't take student loans. Not having loans from undergrad gave me the freedom to pursue a Ph.D just because I wanted to. And I was able to take a lower paying job with better work-life balance.

Great question. More young people should ask.

[Anonymous]

Loans=$0 (Asian parents paid for BS and half of MS other half through work)
Salary = $267K

I wouldn't have that salary if I was too risk adverse and worried about paying off my student loans.

I recommend parents pay for their kid's school and if you get a master's to get your work to pay for it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Loan was about $3k
Paid it off in a couple of years (20 years ago) paying about $100 a month
My salary at that time was about $30k

[Anonymous]

Finished school with $43k in student loans
$100k salary
I paid $385/month until 5 months ago when I paid them off!
I'd definitely do it again. My mom got a job at a college for the tuition discount so I had little to pay for undergrad. But there's no way I could've gotten a master's degree without loans. I'm so glad I did.

[Anonymous]

On the flip side here. I didn't want to take out loans to get my masters and I couldn't afford it outright on my 22 year old's salary. So I never got my masters. Lots of regret. We could have easily paid them off now. Pregnant now so I don't see myself going back anytime soon.

[Anonymous]

How much do you have in loans? 33k
What is your salary? - $54k
How much do you pay monthly?[list] - $495
Were the student loans worth it/ would you take them on again? - yes and no. My parents tried to pay for my school but I kept flunking out( no excuses-- just lazy at that age) so I had to take out loans. I am not sure If I would do it again. It is the deciding factor in terms of me going to grad school (MBA). It is the only debt I have ( even my house is paid for at 34 yrs old, different state, bought cheap). Debts gives me knots in my stomach and I want to purchase a second home here in DC. DH can afford to pay off my loans but in addition to being lazy, I'm also stubborn. Besides I dont see business school working here for me. I'd prefer NY for that market. Short answer: idk

[Anonymous]

Loans 30k, starting salary 39k.

Now down to 16k and I make 120k, 6 years later.

Monthly payment is 165, I try to put in 2-300 a month.

Hoping to pay off a big chunk with my bonus.

[Anonymous]

Loans: $0,
starting salary 54k, currently salary 12 years later is $100k
Parents paid for undergrad. Really glad I got tuition remission/stipend for PhD in the social sciences. It would have sucked to have heavy debt in a moderate paying career (for this area). I would have taken on debt however for a career with a definite payoff and viewed it as a good investment (i.e. top business school, med school, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Loans - started at about $70K in 2005; down to about $16K. Paid off private loans quickly since they were higher interest. I consolidated my federal loans at a killer interest rate; it's about as close to an interest-free loan as one could get.
Income - started at $48K, now $120K. Don't work in anything related to my degrees.

Parents paid for undergrad. I went to school in-state at a school that was an absolute bargain. I paid for grad school. I'd totally do it again; the investment was absolutely worth it and the debt has been far from oppressive.

[Anonymous]

Graduated with: 17k in debt.
Still left: 6k
Paynent: did graduated, now at highest of 175/month
Current salary: 150k+ bonuses

I had zero parent financial support, attended a well-regarded state school and received some need-based grants.
Then I spent over a decade working like crazy to "make it" - including a lot of very lean years, long hours and moves to capitalize on good opportunities.
Glad I did undergrad - if only for the networking/common status with my peers factor. The payments were mostly manageable because of low rates. A few rare times I had to defer payment.
But best decision I ever made? Not getting an advanced degree. A lot of my peers have JDs and others they don't use and we make about the same. The way I see it, I did the grad school of life and came out ahead.

[Anonymous]

No loans from under grad, a little less than $70K for PhD. Paid off about $20K of that, and I now have a loan repayment award through my employer to pay the rest. So, no more student loans.

Salary is $95K + the $12K/year of loan repayment.

I don't regret the path I took, but I also advise people considering a similar field not to take out those kinds of loans. I need my degree to have the job I do, and it's a great fit for me. I didn't feel burdened by my loans before getting the repayment award, but I'm also very glad I got it.

[Anonymous]

Loans: currently 85k I think, started closer to 120k
Salary: 185k
Payment: 600-700/month (yes, I really should know, but I don't, the benefits of automatic payments/savings/etc)
Worth it: Eh, that's not a full yes/no question. Wish I'd done college differently (say, state school), but not sure that would have worked out as well. Law school is what it is. Other grad degree in there too. That said, even from day 1 out of college, loans have really dictated my career options/choices and other things. I couldn't afford more than interest only out of college. The loan payments have always made it impossible for me to pursue XYZ - the job/type of job I really wanted/want, etc. The years of no progress on principal didn't help, and the years back in school accumulating more interest also didn't help. Dare I say the nearly 7% stafford loan interest rate sucks too. Nor did having a kid and having to pay childcare costs in DC, or for special needs therapies etc. Childless, single, for longer, at the salary I started at, would have made a larger dent. But some things don't take to waiting very well. And certainly without the degrees I'd have fewer options (or potential options I can't really pursue right now from a finances perspective). So it's not really an easy yes or no question - yes in some ways, no in others. I certainly know many law school classmates for whom it wasn't worth it. And plenty from undergrad who similarly struggled with their (much smaller than my ultimate total) debt.