<p>Give us the data. Tech field? I thought most Phds in tech fields were covered? How much UG? How much grad? $4000k a month? Holy Crap.</p>
<p>clonetox. In the tech field there may have been options for you to reduce your debtload . For most med students they can make UG choices ( and mine did) but for many the total cost of med school is paid simply by loans. Either be a doc, or don’t be. It rarely gets cheaper than your state schools and usually that is all loans .</p>
<p>No PhD, just master’s. 150k in total loans including accrued interest. (I took out less than that obviously.) Majority from grad school. Minimum payments are around 2000 for the 10 year plan. I pay double (usually hit 3k to 4k) because I’m planning on starting a company in a few years plus I save half the interest if I pay down in 5 instead of 10 years.</p>
<p>I’m also partnering up for a company in a few years which is why I want to get these loans off my back. Maybe if you don’t care about paying over 25 years or 10 years and paying 200k in interest, taking out loans is fine, but I’m not okay with paying 100k+ in interest nor mortgaging most of my adult life to loans. </p>
<p>So although on the face of it my salary might seem high, I live like I did in college. And any financially sensible person would too because you would save hundreds of thousands in interest and you’d give yourself the opportunity to invest in something else besides Sallie Mae.</p>
<p>So you could be paying as low as 1000? 1200? With an income of $200,000?</p>
<p>That was my point. You are making the choice that you think is logical based on your circumstances. Others might make different choices.</p>
<p>Curmudgeon, I think taking out 300k+ is financial suicide because most doctors don’t even make that much relative to their student loan payments. Just warning people who haven’t taken out loans yet-think carefully if you really want to be a doctor and you don’t get into a cheap instate program.</p>
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<p>My income isn’t guaranteed for life, nor is anyone else’s (including physicians’ incomes). I can make low payments if I go on the 25 year plan. But I’m not paying twice as much in interest while my principal accrues when I have a salary that can tackle the loans. Anyone who waits is a financial idiot. It’s much smarter to pay down loans at 8% interest quickly rather than keep them until my 50s. If I did that I’d pay over twice as much interest and banks would refuse to lend to me for other purposes.</p>
<p>So your advice is “Don’t be a doctor?” </p>
<p>Still not seeing it. Few med students take out 300,000.</p>
<p>Check your friends’ home mortgages . Lots of financial idiots there, too on 30 year notes. American dream. Bet some are $300k , too. lol</p>
<p>Mortgages have much lower interest rates than 8% (think 2 to 3 percent); plus you can refinance home loans. I wouldn’t take out an 8% mortgage, if I ever take out a mortgage (which I wouldn’t, after having student loans). Also, houses are assets that can be sold even if they are underwater and net out some portion of the mortgage. Your education isn’t like a house. </p>
<p>Few med students take out 300k, but they will have 300k accrued by the time they finish residency and can afford to repay any portion of their principal.</p>
<p>Lower than eight? Not always. I’m old. And no, refinancing is nowhere near as easy as it once was. I can remember new home interest over 10%.</p>
<p>My advice is, think carefully why you want to be a doctor. If you are okay with living like a college student for many years and you like your job, then go for it. I don’t think most young people know what they are getting into and don’t realize they are otherwise walking into financial suicide. Most doctors don’t get paid that much relative to 300k in student loans.</p>
<p>Sure, but mortgages on average have been lower than 8. Right now it’s around 2 to 3 percent. And again, houses are assets that can be sold to pay off part of that debt. A degree can’t. Plus, you can file for bankruptcy and get your home loans discharged. Your student loans can never be discharged.</p>
<p>Your education isn’t like a house? On that we can agree. A well-crafted education into a field you love is worth more than any house. A life of doing what you don’t love for fear of living like a pauper for 5 years or so? Recipe for a hellish life. </p>
<p>Keep your expenses down, kids but don’t be penny wise and pound foolish.</p>
<p>And how would they even know that they would “love” this job or this field? Most premeds have never worked a real job in their lives. “Volunteering” at a clinic part-time isn’t a real job, nor is “shadowing” a family physician, aka, doing nothing.</p>
<p>Maybe they should work a real job first and then decide before taking out student loans. Jumping into 300k loans for an education for a job you may or may not like better than any other job isn’t a smart decision.</p>
<p>Uhhh… Because they have shadowed and volunteered for 100’s of hours prior to volunteering? How about your tech field classmates? 1000 hours for them?</p>
<p>Did that dissuade you?</p>
<p>Yeah, I forgot how challenging shadowing (doing nothing) and cleaning vials at a lab 10 hours a week is.</p>
<p>Not a fan of pre-meds, huh? lol</p>
<p>And yup. That’s exactly what my kid did. lol Gave her a Goldwater as a soph for vial polishing. They sparkled . ;)</p>
<p>Answer the question. What was your job history that lead you to decide to go $150k in debt?</p>
<p>Cleaning vials and walking around a hospital fetching coffee isn’t exactly as stressful as working 80 hour weeks in a specialty. Premeds should probably work a real job first and see if they want to work 80+ hour weeks. I guess they can always be a family physician, but who knows if they can pay down that 300k loan off a family physician salary.</p>