[burkaman]

This seems like two extreme examples, though. You were able to pay most of your way through college and start your career early, he for some reason took six years for an undergraduate degree and paid for it all with loans. Most people are somewhere in the middle, spending 4 years in college with maybe some internships and/or part-time jobs to help out.

[freehunter]

It is, which is partly why I picked him as an example. I have another friend (in a different field) who did it in four and had an internship during his last year. He's doing well for himself, though he makes a bit less due to his career choices versus mine.

But don't be fooled into thinking a part-time job pays for college in any way, any way at all. I had a full time job making $40k and could only afford one or two classes per semester, and I lived extremely frugally. Paid-off car, apartment under $400/mo, no vices, no parties, and no pets. Someone making $8.15/hr for 20 hours a week only makes ~$8000/yr, or ~$4000 per semester. My mid-size state university costs over $13k per semester, plus books.