<p>"It’s that time of year when people are compiling graduate school applications, gathering transcripts and deciding whether they want to take the plunge. It’s a big decision — and an expensive one. Should you do it?" ...</p>
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<p>Georgetown and Carnevale’s own report contradicts that for education, at least. Recently graduated education majors had the lowest unemployment rates of all of the major fields Georgetown surveyed - 5.4%, compared to engineering’s 7.5%, computer science’s 8.2% and physical and life sciences’ 7.7%. And psychology majors seemed to be no worse off than engineers, computer scientists and physical and life scientists.</p>
<p>But decent-paying - now that depends on what you consider decent, and where you live and what you want to do. Teachers in my hometown (a suburb of Atlanta, a low COL place) start off making $41,000, which is pretty decent - but the raises are bad. After 10 years, you’re still making $43,000. If you got an MA/MS, you make $48,000. But teachers in NYC start off making $45,530, and their raises are better; after 10 years you’re making $67,000, or $73,000 if you got an MA.</p>
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<p>People always leave out the part that you have to pay taxes on whatever portion is forgiven.</p>
<p>Also, if going to a PhD program, IMO you should 1) always attend a funded one, and not attend one that isn’t fully funded and 2) not expect to borrow loans regularly to pay living expenses. It’s one thing if you have to borrow money for relocation expenses or a one-time large expense, like transportation or an emergency fund. But really, you should evaluate PhD offers and ensure that you can cover the day-to-day cost of living with the stipend they give you - precisely because you won’t earn enough on the back end to make repaying those loans affordable, or a good return on your investment.</p>