Is College Worth this level of debt?

When I initially planned my nursing education, I intended to get my Bachelors. After completing my Associates Degree and starting my Bachelors program on a full scholarship, I had to withdraw from school due to divorce and issues surrounding it. When I was ready to return to the task of completing my nursing training, I chose instead of returning to the previous Bachelors program, to go to a nearby community college program instead, for many reasons, including my determination not to accrue massive debt. I graduated with essentially the same level of knowledge, and had I still desired to, I could have probably completed an RN-to-BSN program in a year of full time employment (credit is given for work experience) plus classes each weekend.

Many people would have seen it as a foolish, even wasteful choice that I did not go ahead and do that “slight bit more” to secure the credential of a Bachelors Degree, however, even though I knew that the nursing profession was one in which the move was undoubtedly toward a preference for that degree, particularly for moving up into management, etc, I knew that those things were still accessible to anyone who is intelligent and applies themselves to continuing to learn and gain experience. Despite the degrees I have, I mostly consider myself to be “self-educated”. I went through my secondary school years in a system that still taught “how to learn”, rather than mere indoctrination.

Though that Bachelors Degree is considered the to be practically the minimum requirement today for anyone who wants to make a decent salary, there are more things to consider than just that. Extremely few young adults (or older ones for that matter), understand the way debt works. They see the convenience of “have it now, pay for it later”, and they likely have at least some understanding of interest rates, but particularly for the last few years, that number was kept enticingly low (and I might add, artificially). What borrowers often don’t understand is interest compounded daily, over time, nor do they understand how penalties can add up when a person suddenly finds they are without the ability to keep up with even the minimum payments. That can happen in several ways. A parent becomes incapacitated, and someone just starting out in their career is forced to stop work to care for their parent, a young couple who have carefully planned not to have kids for the first ten years, but doesn’t know that the wife’s antibiotics neutralized the effectiveness of her birth control last month and just found out they are going to be parents and it’s only been two years. I could go on and on.

Governmental student loans is one area of debt that does not qualify to ever be “forgiven” via bankruptcy. That means if you are a 22 year old student who just graduated with significant student loan debt, and you get paralyzed in a car wreck and likely cannot ever even work in the field you studied, and even if you discover a latent artistic talent and start selling paintings you created by holding a paintbrush between your teeth, netting a mere thousand dollars a month, the Government is going to get every penny of that. Once you have defaulted, they aren’t going to be “nice” and set up a reasonable payment arrangement, either. They are entitled to ALL your income until the debt is satisfied, along with interest and penalties. Stinks, I know. But it’s sort of like when you just signed the papers on your brand new car, and totaled it on the way home. Even though the car is now useless and worth only the value of scrap metal, you still owe the lending institution the entire balance that you borrowed! Only thing is, with the car, bankruptcy is permissible. Now, I realize that deferments and other means exist, for extending the term for longer payback term, or reduction of monthly payments, etc, but along with that, you are increasing the size of the debt, not just putting off the payoff date! Before you know it, you are sending in the last payment for your four-year degree at the age of fifty. Holy Cow!

If the Lord tarries (I still have to say that, even though I am very certain it won’t be long before He returns) the type of jobs with a really “good” salary that are going to be available to the kids who are graduating high school and college now, are going to be very limited.

One potent example is a story about a McDonalds franchisee who suddenly realized that due to the joblessness rate, he no longer had to deal with the headache of hiring immature, uneducated, and irresponsible youth to man his registers or college students or second-income moms without college degrees, to manage his locations. NO! There were so many college-educated folks so desperate for a job, he literally could make a college degree a pre-requisite for any and all of his positions, including the guy with the mop bucket! Though it might make for a less frustrating McDonalds transaction for the customer, it would be a “world of hurt” for the average high school senior hoping to scrounge up enough to buy his first car! But that’s what happens under Keynesian Economics!
Spending imaginary (loaned) money does not create wealth. It creates the opposite of wealth!

Let that one sink in!

I don’t enjoy being the bearer of bad news, but it just does not make sense for anyone in this economy, (because even if it gets better, it will take a decade and more) to accrue student loan debt which will siphon off a good half of their income potential for the next decade or more. Despite the fact many people are putting off marriage for later in life, the fact remains that humans are still the same humans God made us, and we have a natural desire for companionship and a mate to share life with. Mating leads to children. Children lead to lots and lots of other expenses which will, in turn, cut a lot further into your income potential. Maybe income potential is the wrong term. Maybe wealth potential is a better one. Because the only money that is really wealth, is the money you get to keep!

So even if some of these college grads come out and they land really great-paying jobs, say $45-$50k per year, such as an Information Technology Specialist.(1) VA Tech offers that sort of degree, I do believe. Cost? $32,000-35,000/year.(2) It depends on the number of credit hours taken each year. On average, though, you get out, and you owe $128,000! Right off the bat! Remember the fifty year old above, who just paid off his debt? Total years of payments: twelve years (1986-2014) Total of the loan? Rounding it up; seven thousand dollars. Sound unlikely? True story! Yikes! Though this is an extreme case,( series of events brought lots of financial setbacks) but on top of that, the cumulative rate of inflation between those years has been 93 %!!!!!(2) That means that every U.S. dollar buys you eighty-six percent less than it was 23 years ago. Or, that eighty-six dollars buys you what one dollar did 23 years ago. When you throw in the fact that tuition rates on a four year degree increased 54% (3) over the period of ’98 to ‘2008 alone, with salaries trending down and expenses trending up, how many years will the VA Tech student be paying on his nearly $130k student loan debt? (4)

Hey, don’t ask me! I couldn’t afford math. LOL!

What sorts of things effect the purchasing power of a dollar?

Inflation
Low Interest Rates
The overall debt (of a nation)
Consumer confidence
Financial difficulties such as rise in oil prices, recession, prolonged drought (just a few).

Do you ever stop and realize that every single thing that is of any actual monetary value has initially come out of the ground?

Oil
Gold
Diamonds
Metals
Food
Wood

God made the Earth, and everything in it.

You might say, “no, it was man who created glass and steel alloys and rockets:”, but the truth is, the components all came from the ground.

Well, someone else might say, ok, but someone else did the actual work and labor to build the rocket, mine the metals, etc”. Yes, but to do that they had to have energy, and to have energy, they had to eat something that came out of the ground, or some finned or hoofed creature that he shot and ate, but then that critter had to eat something that came out of the ground to survive long enough for man to shoot and eat him. See how it works?

The Bible says even man himself came out of the dust of the ground, and God formed man, and blew the breath of life into him.

True wealth, like matter, is neither created nor destroyed, in the existential sense, except by God.

We are living in times when it looks like wealth is disappearing from the Earth, but that is not the case at all. What is taking place is that wealth is being taken from most of the inhabitants of the earth and being amassed by a select few who are gathering power unto themselves for the fulfillment of conditions of these last days.

Though by all indications it would seem the “future” is short, we have been instructed to occupy in the meantime. So what is the best route for your kids, or you, yourself, if you are in that decision-making age group about to graduate from high school, to plan for under the current circumstances?

Well, lets look at a few things. One factor that most people are not aware of, is the fact that specialized skills like blacksmithing, and other metalworking, plumbing, even old fashioned mechanic, are areas of work that have fallen out of favor in the past couple of decades precisely because of the push for college degrees. Meanwhile all the mechanics and blacksmiths and plumbers are aging out in retirement. There will still be a demand for these skills, and those who possess them will be a shrinking minority. The old laws of supply and demand apply here! The cost of a good mechanic when everyone needs one and there are only a few, well, he can just about name his price. Granted, right now, the need for blacksmiths is not great, since a lot of stuff is made in factories, but then, most of those factories moved overseas. Regardless, Blacksmithing work, if you can get it, pays about $25,000=$35,000 per year. If you practice it in the art realm, depending on how good you are, there’s no telling how high that could go. There are about thirty-six blacksmithing and Farrier (horseshoe-making) schools in the Appalachian region, and Eastern U.S. alone. Not too bad! The cost for that apprentice training is around seven thousand for the 12 week course, and another six grand for your room/board if you’ll need that. For thirteen thousand dollars in 12 weeks, you can be a certified blacksmith making $25/hour, and if your real goal is to be a veterinarian, then you can live off of a salary like that while you work your way through vet school paying-as-you-go, instead of starting out in life under a load of debt.(5)

Here are eight other jobs that pay the same as the I.T. job, but without the student loan debt (6):

Fitness Trainer: Programs available at local YMCA, costs about $500 for the certification class, and jobs as a fitness trainer can carry a salary in the $50k range. This is something that might appeal to athletic types who maintain a healthy lifestyle, are perhaps not quite on par of those who get full football scholarships, etc, but for whom being healthy and active is a passion, and those are really the only pre-requisites, other than CPR certification, which you can get in one five hour class. You buy a book for about seventy dollars, do a few months of pre-study, attend a three-day workshop, pay a small fee for the practice test, and get a your certification and a year membership to a local Certified Fitness Trainer League. (This is merely an example from one such program in my own area).

Event Planner: Though there are Bachelor Degree programs in this specialty, many successful planners are merely organized and disciplined people with the right combination of leadership skills, management, vision, passion and work ethic. There are successful event planners with high school diplomas or associates degrees, that also earn in the $50k range. Bar-tenders, people with experience in a hostess position in the restaurant and hospitality industry, could potentially funnel that experience into this field.

Flight Attendant: Five-day course, all inclusive cost of $170, including certification, up to $300, with additional small (up to $50.) fees for extra certifications in things like training on specific aircraft types, or in aviation first aid, and even help in how to write your resume and how to present yourself well in an interview. Perks of this job are great too, free or reduced travel to many locations, and of course the days on/days off schedule allows for more days off in a row than most jobs. Anyone who is personable, and likes people, and enjoys travel, might want to look into a job like that! I got this information by just searching out flight attendant training programs. (7)

Locomotive Engineer: Training is on-the-job, and provided by the company and the salary is even better, nearer the 90k range.

I’m not talking anyone out of college. I am all for education. The thing is, you can get an education for very little, and even for free, you just have to know where to look. Get as much experience as you can in the area that interests you, and start early by volunteering in the area while you are still in high school and even middle school if you already know what your interests are for a career. Many kids today don’t even know the many, many choices there are for ways in which to earn your keep. Be an information sponge. Ask lots of questions, and if that gets on people’s nerves, well, so be it, but have an inquisitive mind and ask. Being curious is not a bad thing, in fact it is usually a sign of high intelligence. People who need information like others need water and air, are usually like that because they have a large capacity to take in information!

A college education can be very good, but don’t assume it will secure you a great income. If you show initiative in other areas of work, and take advantage of every opportunity to learn, and explore different areas, you will find what suits you and what you are “wired” for, and then you have to work hard, work smart, exhibit honesty, integrity, and determination. Those things are what the employer is looking for. If you have that, many business owners will train you on the other areas. Starting your adult life saddled with debt is like running a race with a handicap or major disadvantage. Avoid it if at all possible. Someone who makes fifty thousand, but pays half of that in student loans, is no better off than someone who makes only twenty-five thousand.

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