Student Loan Debt?

[MossRoad]

I’ve driven through STL east to west and west to east around 40 times in the past 4 years. I can’t recall any problems. Certainly not like we’ve had in Chicago!

 

[milkman636]

I spent a week in and around St. Louis at the end of March and I was surprised at how much sprawl has happened heading west. It’s just miles of people, stores, and Amazon facilities.

 

[paulsharvey]

My previous and current employers would/will pay for up to 6 credit hours per semester at any state college as long as you got a C or better. So you could get a 4 year degree in 8 years, but completely free. Not many take advantage of it. No long game in their plans. The ones that did take advantage of it are all doing really well.

No idea on current employers policy; but last one, we'll, actually 2 back, they did same thing, but it had to be something in their business line related. At the time; wife was taking pre-reqs for nursing, and I was helping her on her math work. She had a grant; and I said, maybe I'll slowly work on a Bachelors in Engineering. Took two math pre-reqs and didn't keep after it; pain to do online only math, while working full time, and dealing with kids and all. Note; yes I passed the classes, but it was a lot of work, and taking 1 class per semester would have taken like 16 years, and just wasn't worth the effort.

I did have the opportunity when I was like 20 to transfer to a 4 year school from a community college, with 100% scholarship, plus VA cash (moms husband is disabled vet, so I got like $750/month while enrolled), but I was Over school at that point, and elected to just graduate with associates. Frankly, no regrets on that either; I never liked school.

 

[ultrarunner]

We have two very good LVNs in their 40’s going for RN on company dime.

Married life, kids etc kept them from going straight through.

With their years of on the job experience it’s a lot of the formalities because they are every bit of a RN nurse except for regulatory restrictions.

I’ve noticed that working in a hospital there are some that punch well above their weight and it shows through daily… sometimes that piece of paper translates into tens of thousands added annual pay…

 

[paulsharvey]

We have to very good LVNs in their 40’s going for RN on company dime.

Married life, kids etc kept them from going straight through.

With their years of on the job experience it’s a lot of the formalities because they are every bit of a RN nurse except for regulatory restrictions.

I’ve noticed that working in a hospital there are some that punch well above their weight and it shows through daily… sometimes that piece of paper translates into tens of thousands added annual pay…

Medical, and some other professions, you Are what your degree is (or cert/state licensee). No matter how good of an LPN you are, you aren't an RN. Best Pharm Tech is always gonna 25% the pay of a base line Pharmacist. However, a lot of professions aren't that way; either in title or pay. A good superintendent or foreman may make as much or more than a project manager; and/or can always be promoted j to that roll.

I know for the wife, going back to school, and using loans and grants and a few minor scholarships for adult students, has more than paid for itself. I also know my little brothers Bachelors in Communications probably isn't helping him drive a concrete truck; or oldest sister with 3 Bachelors, and a masters making like $50-60k doing some kinda environmental work for NC DOT.

My degree, is essentially equal to having a friend or family member in the business; it got me the interview at the first job; after that, it has meant nothing. Heck, I dont even remember what it was even called; construction management or building construction or construction technology or something. It means so much too I don't even know where the diploma is, or what the major was exactly.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep… I know the owner of a law firm corporation with 3 offices and he never passed the bar yet has two dozen lawyers on the payroll…

Seen similar with medical corporations with multiple sites… managing partner is not a MD or DO or DPM.

It’s interesting to see how things are structured…

Our family Doctor trained his office nurse and she gave injections etc with no degree at all working under his supervision.

When he was planning to retire he said you are a fantastic nurse and I’m funding nursing school so you can continue as an RN and she quickly became charge at the hospital.

She breezed through the program.

Dad had a friend that never went to law school and became a lawyer in a process by Reading for the Bar…

In the states of California, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington, an applicant who has not attended law school may take the bar exam after reading law under a judge or practicing attorney for an extended period of time

At one time we had a few Diploma Nurse RNs but almost doesn’t exist anymore.

Military Corpsman are are allowed to challenge the board of nursing in my state and if successful granted RN

 

[paulsharvey]

Montana and maybe other states don't require a degree to sit for a EIT test (Engineer in training, the 1st half of the way to getting a PE). Technically, many other things don't either, but require your credentials be submitted to a board, of college guys. that won't approve not degree folks.

Nor 100% sure of the true details, but my mom, an RN, worked with a LPN, that had been a medical doctor in Guatemala. Some kinda over group reviewed his credentials and determined a doctor in Guatemala has equivalent to an LPN in the US

 

[Torvy]

I paid for much of my college using tuition assistance from a few different employers. Typically, if you were in a degree program, it didn't have to directly line up with the business. Just taking individual classes they did require it to be related...as signed off by the boss. Didn't matter state or private schools. Only covered tuition though.

 

[riptides]

I paid for my college hustling three jobs and eating lettuce. A lot of lettuce. Tuition assistance was another side hustle. I don't recall if my first employer even offered it. It was short term contract work from them anyway.

Times have changed now. All I have to do to get more money for school is fill out a few forms and sign up for some significant debt. And I can even do it for family members.

 

[paulsharvey]

One issue is, I dont think many people will admit they made a mistake taking on the large amounts of debt to get some of these degrees. They are Way too invested, and they will defend to the death the decision, even when you can mathematically prove they aren't seeing any payback numbers.

If you spent $100k to get a degree that pays $35k; we can pretty easily prove you wasted both your time and money; but they won't own up to it.

At the Same time; we have people that will 100% deny that taking on debt to increase your earning ability is always a bad move.

Like so many things; moderation, and also more than one way to get to the same goal.