[malux85]

I was very interested in chemistry, and thought I would study that - because you can’t be an organic chemist without a degree.

Then I saw the loans, and switched interest to computer science and programming.

Nobody is forcing you into a particular career, just switch, the definition of intelligence is general adaptability.

Shouldering yourself with hundreds of thousands in debt when you’ve never even had a job before is stupid. Period.

You might say, “are all doctors stupid?” And I would say they are not stupid, but the action of crippling yourself with debt is stupid.

I have friends who are doctors, who are 30, still laden with debt, living in tiny apartments and working 70 hours a week, and they hate it. If you ask them now “is it worth it” the answer is a resounding no. But they are in too deep now, they are a slave to their debt.

[baron816]

OK, don't take out hundreds of thousands of dollars in student debt. Very few people will ever be forced to consider doing that because 1) they can choose to go to a cheaper school or 2) even very "expensive" private schools offer generous financial aid packages that should make debt manageable.

If you choices are 1) take $30K in student loans to pursue a career you're interested in/go to a school that will set you up for a promising future, or 2) teach yourself how to become a software engineer even if you're not interested in it or well suited for it, then I'd advise people to go for #1 every time.

[glofish]

Correct,

it is not the debt itself but the size of it and expected payoffs.

If you were coming from an average financial background in America then

a 30K student loan to go to an excellent school that sets you up for life would be most certainly worth it, 300K would most likely not