Student debt is, without a doubt, one of the biggest preoccupations of high school seniors and college students. Because no colleges in the US are free, like public schools, and the maintenance of a good and effective programmed is expensive, the tuition can be expensive. Two ways of being able to attend the university and deal with their tuition is to, either be awarded scholarships or, most commonly, get a loan. Although this loan can be very helpful when it comes to giving students an opportunity to get their bachelors degree, it can also be very prejudicial in the bigger picture. Because of that, recent college graduates are discouraged to follow their dreams and look for jobs that fit their degrees because student debt takes up an enormous part of their lives, leading them to take the first job available to start paying it off.
It is possible to affirm that student debt impacts recent graduates, once it pushes them to take the first job available, as a chance of paying them off as soon as possible, instead of looking for a job in their field. According to a study conducted by Mark Kantrowitz, a publisher of SavingforCollege.com, more than half of the people who owe $55,000 or more in student debt say that they took a job outside of their field.
Moreover, the loans also hold them back when it comes to furthering their career with relevant jobs. Another study conducted by the American Student Assistance proves that 47% of the interviewed agree that the need to pay their student debt hampers their ability to further their careers.
Finally, this debt also discourages new graduates from following their dreams. An example of that is 27-year-old marine science major who gave up his dream job in Florida as a dolphin trainer because the wage was not enough to pay his monthly student debt. He ended up working as a supervisor in a big-box retainer - a job he hates but had to take because of his need to pay off his debt. Another example that confirms this is the story of Loriann Sanchez, a girl who had to give up her childhood dream of being a journalist and working in a newspaper because the wage wasn't enough to pay off her debt. Therefore, it's noticeable that student debt has a huge impact on graduates' lives, as it creates an anxiety about paying them off (or else big parts of their financial lives can be compromised) and gets in the way of students to follow their dreams, act on their fields, and. in the future. contribute to the economy.
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