<p>CPT- I also know a family in this situation but my patience has run thin. The solution is for the kid who took on the debt to get a good job. That’s the beginning and the end of it. But I’ve tried to be helpful in this young person’s job hunt only to be told that no, kid can’t move to Minneapolis or St Louis- got to be SF or DC. Kid can’t get a job in the retail management program at Bed Bath or Thrifty Car Rental because “that’s not my field”. Kid won’t start out at a large hotel chain as an assistant manager and move up because “I’m not interested in customer facing roles”, whatever the heck that means.</p>
<p>So sure, I feel sorry for the letter writer and for all the other kids out there trying to manage crushing debt. But there is only one solution- not refinancing, not writing satiric letters, not trying to patch together a few part time “meaningful” gigs as a writer or film maker or social critic. Get a job with a big corporation, move to Hartford CT and work in the claims training program at a big insurance company. You can find a decent apartment with a roommate, take the bus to work for a year while you whack away at your loan payments. Get promoted, buy a cheap used car and continue to whack away at your loan payments. By the time your friends are done with their Master’s degrees (more debt) or have concluded that you can’t pay for a cute apartment in SF AND eat AND pay off your loans as a part-time blogger, you will have chipped away at the mountain of debt AND be well positioned for a career.</p>
<p>I am sad for these kids, but the solution is not more bloggers and more social media start-ups. Move to a B-list city and get a job with a steady paycheck, medical benefits, and start paying back the loans.</p>