College Debt

So, being a soon to be freshman - at the University of Hawaii, be jealous! - I have to deal with the issue of coming up with $40,000 to pay for my education. Most humans in this country do not have this sort of money, regardless of how much they save. Even if they have managed to save this amount over the years, they certainly do not have enough saved for all four years of college.

This leads myself and countless others down the road of scholarships. We do obtain said scholarships, but unfortunately, not enough in most cases to completely cover tuition. Now, us unlucky not-millionaires look to loans.

Shoot me now.

I have seen the average yearly student loan amount between $25,000 and $27,000 on different loan websites, but regardless of the actual amount, any number in the thousands is difficult to pay back. Even more so considering that most students can only carry a part-time job with school work and even after graduation, we are not looking at high paying jobs. We have to start at the bottom, regardless of our career path, and claw our way to a decent position.

Meanwhile, our loans wait silently. Waiting. Growing bigger.

Also annoying is the fact that in most cases, the only way to obtain any sort of a job is to be educated. If we are aiming above retail and fast food, that education needs to be from a university. So then, we must collect thousands of dollars in debt. After doing so, we are now suitable for a job, but then we still must prove that we are somehow superior to the hundreds of others applying for the same spot, others who most likely are several years out of school and have experience.

Yeah.

Being the optimistic person I try to be, I look at this impending dark future with the knowledge that I will at least enjoy what I will be doing with my life. I have every intention of paying back my debt, and I am also aware it will take several years, but it will be easier with my career choice. I want to be a translator, an individual that happens to be quite popular. Most do not want the troubles of learning a second/third language, so I have quite a nice chance of landing a position during/after graduation. I also want to write, so still holding on to my optimism, I may earn a bit if I can have something published.

But then again, it is better for me to put my future on learning languages well. Writing is one of those subjective fields where I may end up living on the streets. Cannot have that as my only source of income...

I guess people should try to focus on doing what they love. Or, we could stage a huge take-down-colleges-and-their-empire plot, but I do not see that happening in the next four years. I do not really agree with the stigma that one must have a college degree to be good enough for a position - take for example my field. I could learn a language on my own for less than $40,000, but I would have a difficult time finding a position translating when I compete with those who have degrees - but that is the state of living at the moment. My optimism says: do not attend college with the intention of getting a job for money. Attend college as a stepping stone to the job that will make you happy. Have a reason to wake up each morning.

Also, this is the nice little article that had me thinking about college debt:

http://news.yahoo.com/first-person-careful-swallowing-student-loan-lies-231600404.html