Photo essay -- living with debt in America

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

In Asian households, education and professions are talked about since elementary schools and it's very clear that doctor/lawyer >>>> junior high science teacher.

Junior high science teachers helped those Asian kids get to doctor/lawyer. Just saying.

Right. My 7th grade science teacher is the reason I went to med school; yeah -- I'm sure my Princeton bio professors had NOTHING to do with it -- my 7th grade science teacher who assigned busy work is responsible for my career in medicine and my sister's career in law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am one of the ones who is NOT against student debt, but I think parents have to know their kids and be honest re their kid and his/her work ethic, interests etc -- which is something parents do less and less of these days as every snowflake is a star.

There are certain kinds of kids who will go to Wharton undergrad or a top 10 law school or med school -- graduate with 150-200k in debt -- and will have NO problem slogging it out in investment banking, biglaw, or a high end specialty. Those kinds of kids are really into their school/work and don't see it as a particularly big deal to work 70-100 hrs a week for yrs to pay off debt, make money, and continuously get better at their jobs. For those types -- staggering debt isn't as big of a deal. However those kinds of kids are few and far between in their intelligence and work ethic and if you have that kind of kid -- you probably know it. For every 1 of those that I know, I know 10 in biglaw who are 2nd yr associates whining about how much they work and are basically ready to quit having not even done this for 18 months; they are the types who went to law school when they realized their English degree wasn't particularly employable, had the grades/stats for a top law school, did well enough in law school to get a biglaw job, and are now STUNNED by how many hours someone will ask you to work when they are paying you a high salary. I have to believe their parents knew those kids were smart but had lots of other life interests which weren't sympatico with billing 80 hrs a week (or being a cardiologist or being an investment banking associate) -- and perhaps should have discouraged the acquisition of such incredible debt by folks who "burn out" after 1 yr of 80 hrs/wk and are now jumping to 40 hr a week non profit jobs.

+100. I agree completely with this post. Some people seem to have more stamina and motivation than others to do the work required in BigLaw. (I did it myself for 6 years before going in-house, and so had a glimpse of it.) Those people knocked down their loans pretty quickly after law school (most within 5-6 years I'd say).