<p>That is a lot of debt with a low salary resulting from such a degree. Here in the states we have way too many people even with Ph.D.s in music, performance, theory, education, etc. who can rarely find jobs to support themselves much less a family, or pay off debt. These are people who have trained their entire lives in the classical tradition and jazz at top notch schools. Imagine people trained since age 4 in violin or cello, piano and to some extent voice, by the thousands, all coming out of these schools across the country, with masters and Ph.Ds. all struggling and selling real estate to support themselves, or waiting tables… my town is full of them. Some even move to Nashville to try to get piecemeal work there where they join tens of thousands more. Just an observation from my neck of the woods. Best wishes to you. I’d stay in Italy any day over New York if I had half the chance:)</p>