It's comments like this that make my head want to explode....

"People use the excuse of "I don't want to get into debt" for why they keep flipping burgers instead of going to college are dumb. 7 months since graduating and I've already paid off 35% of the student loans I built up over 6 years."

This comment was stated by someone who got real lucky. I don't know all of his circumstances, but I know he had various bits of help throughout his 6 year college career.... such as not having to work. For 6 years.Must be nice. While *part* of this statement is true... I don't see why you wouldn't want to better yourself, I don't think you have to go into debt to do it. He will never know how ignorant this statement makes him sound. And the reason is because he is in the minority of those who did not struggle during and after college.

Here's my story....
I remember being 13 years old and wanting to save all my babysitting money for my dream truck. A Chevy Ext-cab 1500, two-toned paint (dark green on top, tan on bottom). My dad said "You don't need to worry about that." So I didn't. The following year I began high school. Again, I mentioned saving all my babysitting money for college. My dad said "Don't worry about that.. We'll send you to college. It won't be Ivy League, but it'll be something." The Ivy League he was referring to was Harvard, where my BFF at the time wanted to go. I never had those dreams... I didn't know where I wanted to go. I just knew that after high school, you go to college.

At 15, my parents went through a bitter divorce. Somewhere in all of this mess a promise was broken. I wouldn't know this for years. The truck I received, while very grateful, was not what I was expecting. This truck wasn't in the best of condition. There was a new paint job and new interior. It looked nice. But the inside was a mess (according to my uncle anyway). The truck lasted about a year and then it became too dangerous to drive.

Before I graduated high school, my mother moved to Houston. I had the choice of staying or going. I stayed.

When I graduated high school (98), I figured I would start college that Fall. I tried enrolling in ACC while in my Jr and Sr years, but they wouldn't let me. There was too much confusing paperwork and no one to help me with it. The counselors were worthless. While my relationship with my dad was pretty much nonexistent although he cosigned so I could have an apartment, I figured the promise still stood. He paid for one class, but getting that was too much. I never beg for money. I never asked for college money again.

I began working several jobs at a time to make ends meet. I moved to Houston for a brief time and then somewhere in all that mix, I moved back and got married, then moved again and again and again then got divorced. I landed back in Houston during all of this. Depression hit but I finally got off the couch a few months before my divorce would be final. I was working. My mom's BFF at the time had a position open, so she introduced us. I would stay at that job for another 3 or so years. We became pretty close, but the last year I worked there was absolute Hell. I wanted to go back to school. But my boss (who I carpooled with) wouldn't let me. It would mean she'd have to either get to work at a decent time or sit in Houston traffic for an hour and a half. I finally just stopped going to her house. I couldn't allow anyone else to keep me down. I began going back to school.

It was now Fall 2002. I took as many distance learning classes as I could, but some classes you just had to go to. I paid as I went for school because I did not want to be in debt. Debt scared me. I was taught a value of a dollar, but I was never taught how to properly use a credit card. I had never had a loan for anything other than a vehicle. My ex was in A LOT of debt. Working through that and getting everything paid off took what seemed like forever. It was stressful.

When my job became too much for me to handle (ulcers, anxiety attacks, depression, anger), I made a plan to move back to Austin. I was already going back all most every week anyway. One weekend, I went to look for an apartment. Not to rent, but just to know where I wanted to live. In that same weekend, I went to a temp agency. Within an hour of them testing my skills, I had a job interview. I wasn't even dressed for a job interview! It was after 5pm. This was all happening so fast!

I got a great job right off the bat. This was fate. It had to be. I went back to the apartment I had picked out. They had a 1 bedroom available! And, they were having a drawing. I drew a ticket out of the fishbowl and I won a FREE MOVE! OMG.... this is AWESOME! Two weeks later, I moved back to Austin (04).

When trying to figure out how to get back into ACC I found out that the majority of my credits from NHMCCD would not transfer. I was so distraught. All this time I thought that public colleges in Texas would have a good enough system to where I could transfer. I had no problem transferring credits from ACC to NHMCCD... why would I lose everything I learned there though? Two years... wasted. And I would have been a mere 12 credits away from my associates.

I decided that it wasn't worth it. I didn't have time to lose anymore. I had been out of high school for 6 years and had nothing to show for it. I was bitter. I'm slowly learning to let that bitterness go. In my hunt for an accelerated program, I found AIU. I had an awesome counselor who walked me through everything I would be doing and how much it would cost. I pulled up the tuition of UT... it was less than them, so I was mildly satisfied.

I would start earning my debt in Fall 2004 and graduate with a Bachelors in Fall 2005 (technically my graduation date was Feb. 2006, but I only took an exit course in January...). I worked at AMCO until I was forced to quit due to medical harassment. From what I understand, the Controller lost her job but not before I felt I had to quit. The timing wasn't bad though. I was halfway through my BA when I found an internship. This was after months of job hunting to get into the industry only to find out the majority of places hired from within... from internships.

The internship I found was in Georgetown. I lived off of Stassney and Congress. A bit of a commute is an understatement. I paid my lease off a month early and moved to North Austin. Why I didn't move to Round Rock or Georgetown is beyond me. There was probably some reason. During the interview, I was told that the internship was unpaid but if it was extended it would go on to be a paid position.

My debt was already piling up. I saw jobs out the wazoo that I *would* qualify for after I graduated. They had impressive salaries. I took out a living expense loan to cover my expenses while I was doing the internship. I took out enough to live on for a year. While I was hoping I would have a paid position at that company within a few months, it wasn't guaranteed. This ended up being my life saver.

After months of prodding the owner, I finally received a check for all my hard work. Work I took home with me. Work I did while also working a PT job at Garden Ridge. And freelancing. I was making the same as when I worked one job. I graduated college a few months later. Then one day, that company decided just not to pay us. Their cashflow dried up and they didn't bother to tell us. I started job hunting again.

Thanks to my mentor, I found a job through a temp agency that specializes in our industry. The job sounded PERFECT. And it would pay a lot more than I was making. That is, until they backtracked and offered $5/hr less than the original offer. I was so desperate to find a stable company to work for that I took it anyway. I was now making $3 an hour more than what I did before I had a degree.

Was my degree worth the $40k + interest for $3 an hour more than what I was making pre-college?

No.

Do I love what I do? Absolutely! More than what I was doing before, for sure. But, I taught myself everything that I do now. My degree taught me the ins and outs of marketing and advertising. It did not teach me to code.

As you can see by my tickers over to the side, even though I paid on my loans while I was in school (and had an income...), the interest was too much to handle. I now, 5 years after graduating, owe more than what I took out. And that includes the God only knows how much I've thrown at these loans to make a dent. Thankfully, Brian makes twice what I did - without college. And even though he works for his family, anyone could do his position with on-the-job training. Because of this, we are estimated to pay off my loans in about 2.5 years. Less if I'm able to get back to work. It's much more difficult with a toddler though.

Blanket statements like the one above are ignorant. The economy is in the gutter right now. People aren't paying what they used to. They also aren't posting as many positions. This person got lucky. Very, very lucky. He never had the hardships that so many others have. And to think that everyone's life runs as smoothly as his does is, well... to use his own word.... dumb.