Reply to If you took out six figure student loans for a professional degree, what was your strategy

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I've heard, for a graduate degree, you should never take on more debt than the salary you would earn during the first, full year after obtaining the degree.[/quote]

Actually, that's the advice money managers give for bachelor's degrees --- never take out more for college than you expect to make in your first year doing the job you are trying to prepare for.  [/quote]

For a bachelors that makes total sense.  CS majors could take out $80K, don't recommend it as it is not needed, but they could and do ok.  History/English/psychology majors probably shouldn't take more than $40K for undergrad. [/quote]

+1 This makes sense to me too. I've met a lot of people who are saddled with debt because they wanted to go to the more exclusive school, but they don't earn much money. Top school doesn't always = high salary (especially for certain fields).

We told our kids that we'll pay for in-state schools or give them that amount towards tuition elsewhere, and they should only consider pricier schools if it will lead to a higher paying career or they get scholarships. I know this goes against the DCUM grain, but we're not sacrificing our retirement plans just to get them expensive degrees to get a career with a low ROI. It makes sense to take out loans for a top law school, but not to max out your salary at $90K at some SJW nonprofit.[/quote]

You should never jeopordaize your retirement for your kid's education...find a place that is affordable for the kids.  No school is worth $80K/year if you don't have the money saves or cannot easily cashflow it (and that means you also are adequately prepared for retirement for your age).  Nobody cares where you went once you get your first job, and really even for that there are plenty of Non-T20 schools where kids go onto great jobs.  The elite schools don't have a lock on that.  Sure the elite schools send kids to FAANG, but so do non-elite state schools and private schools. Go where you can afford, work hard and take advantage of all opportunities.  99% of success at college is what you do while there, not where you are. If your kid "can buy a lottery ticket for T25 admissions" then they should have the drive to succeed anywhere

We do our kids a disservice when we don't help them understand what their initial salary, 5 year salary and 10 year salary might be for their major/degree.  We need people doing all types of jobs, and most who major in social work would be miserable/suck at CS/engineering.  So go do what you want in life, be happy, but set your expectations for lifestyle and finances accordingly.  If you are going to come out making only $35K, try to avoid student loans as much as possible.  Also plan that your lifestyle needs to fit within your earning power---if you desire taking beach vacations (that you fly to) and a trip to Europe each year and that really is what you need to be happy, then being a social worker or teacher might not be the best career path for you.  But don't do something STEM just to make more money, unless you would enjoy that, because that is a miserable path.  So search to find something you will love[/quote]

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