Posted on 12/03/2011 8:50:46 AM PST by SeekAndFind
A continuing refrain of Occupy Wall Street protesters has been “student debt is too damn high,” as James Surowiecki wrote in The New Yorker. In some cases — like for the college graduate profiled in a recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education who has $100,000 in debt and uncertain job prospects — this is unarguably true. But such cases make for dramatic reading precisely because they are so rare.
The first thing to note is that most of those with that much debt have graduate degrees; it is difficult to accumulate that much debt in an undergraduate program. The chart below shows the percentage of beginning undergraduate students who, six years later, had accumulated more than the indicated levels of debt.
Only one-tenth of 1 percent of college entrants, and only three-tenths of 1 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients, accumulate more than $100,000 in undergraduate student debt. If you have more than $75,000 in undergraduate debt, you are the 1 percent – just not the 1 percent you might have been hoping for.
(Excerpt) Read more at economix.blogs.nytimes.com ...
Speaking as a grad student myself (though fortunately not with anywhere near 100K in debt), in my experience these massive debts are often the result of being unable or unwilling to budget and to live below one’s means. Many of my colleagues insist on eating out several times a week, shopping at the politically correct trendy grocery stores, paying higher rents to live farther from campus, and maintaining a balance on two or more credit cards. That just isn’t a feasible lifestyle at $15K/year. So it’s no wonder that such folks are attracted to the OWS filth— I’ve seen more than one colleague whine on Facebook that all student loans should be forgiven— as both groups are profoundly economically ignorant.
They did a good job indoctrinating these kids. They all complain that their college education costs too much, and that their degrees are worthless in the job market, but none of them seem to think their professors are overpaid for what they’re teaching.
I love this story. Guy quits a teaching job to go get his Master’s in Puppetry and goes $35k in debt.
http://www.thenation.com/article/164348/audacity-occupy-wall-street
But the jobs went away didn't they? And wages have been pretty stagnant for decades. And inflation makes dollars worth less every year.
The student debt isn't really the heart of the matter. The real problem is that government involvement has crippled our economy. One wage earner supporting a family with a middle class lifestyle? That disappearred about 40 years ago. Thanks Nanny State.
Yep. I dithered around in an anthropology Ph.D. program for several years before I finally admitted that I had no real interest in glorifying Third World culture. Meanwhile, I was a dingbat with a Visa. Now I have $80,000 to pay back. Unlike OWS, though, I know it’s my fault and I have to pay it back. And I have to face it: it was a fun decade, ambling around the lazy halls of academia. When I feel grumpy about paying it back I just remind myself: most people work hard all their lives and then retire. I just did it the other way around...
Many of those with graduate degrees are just prolonging their entry into the real world.
Looking back on my career, the professors who discouraged me from going to grad school were probably the most influential of my life. For most people, graduate school is an economic dead end. They learn more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
Specialization is for insects. I’d strongly recommend that young people get out into the world and start the real learning.
Many of those with graduate degrees are just prolonging their entry into the real world.
Looking back on my career, the professors who discouraged me from going to grad school were probably the most influential of my life. For most people, graduate school is an economic dead end. They learn more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
Specialization is for insects. I’d strongly recommend that young people get out into the world and start the real learning.
I'm far less concerned about those we dislike than those we like.
Don’t forget the people who want to go out of state to an expensive school for its prestige. Many in state schools aren’t too expensive.
There are too many required electives. One move that would help both students and employers (who require those expensive degrees for prospective employees) would be to limit the degree requirements to only the core cources.
That would make too much sense
It puts you in a tenuous position. When the chickens come home to roost and the economy collapses, having a degree in Progressive Multicultural Enviromental Studies will be worth considerably less than simply being able to say "I know how to fix a generator."
When all else fails become a community organizer. You never know where it may lead you to.
If your grad degree is in science and engineering, very likely you’ll be able to get someone (research grant from a professor) to pay your tuition for you.
From what I've seen of community organizers, I've got a pretty good idea and I decided a long time ago I don't want to go there.
With the increasing viabiliy of online learning, and the increasing number of accredited universities that offer online graduate courses, it's increasingly the better idea to go to work, and let the company pay for your master's degree as you work on it part-time.
Pride goeth before a fall and the decision to stay in school and not make a living.
Oh no, I wasn’t suggesting you. I mean the OWS crowd with student debt.
That's probably true. I think you'd be hard pressed to have found anyone with a science or engineering degree among the occupiers of Zuccotti Park.
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