<p>Okay, so what has made me create this thread is that, as an entering first-year student, I will be leaving college with $30,000 in loans. For a Film Major. (Because it's my passion and I'm willing to die for it.)</p>
<p>Anyway, I'm asking if there's a list of the amount of debt for certain college majors in order to live comfortably after college/grad school after finding a reasonable-paying job.</p>
<p>Or...we could create one ourselves in this thread and organize the list as necessary. =]</p>
<p>I’ve seen rule of thumb estimates, like no more than your likely first year salary, no more than the Stafford limits, etc. Be aware that you should not overestimate your likely salary, esp. for film school graduates. Try payscale for estimates.$30,000 is a significant amount of money to owe, would you buy a brand new $30,000 car right out of school? Film happens in big cities like LA and NYC, really expensive living costs. You shouldn’t be willing to die for it, but be prepared to starve.</p>
<p>According to the data, engineering majors, on average, make the most with only a bachelor’s degree, while psychology and social work majors make the least, which isn’t exactly surprising. I, however, doubt that it’s “safe” to rely on past data, even if it is only one year old, when your main goal in college to is study in a field that provides the highest ROI. One thing, I think, that complicates matters also is the fact that many students may be increasingly shifting towards careers they think will provide lucrative salaries especially since the nationwide student debt is increasing evermore.</p>
<p>The median salary Film Video and Photographic Arts Majors is $42,000. Honestly, I’d be happy with this, but I find it hard to believe that jobs would be so easy to find in this field, it being so highly competitive.</p>
<p>The number of NEW JOBS (not greatest positive percent change) is expected to increase for network systems and data communications analysts, home health and personal care aides, dental assistants, computer software engineers, and medical assistants. With the exception of anything that relates to technology/computers, those in this list don’t require bachelor’s degrees at all. Preparation for these careers would be better suited for associate’s degrees or community colleges, which are way less expensive than four-year colleges.</p>
<p>Hm, so I realize that earnings are very erratic in the performing and visual arts fields. So I may have to subsist on my parents income in the worst case scenario–not very desirable!</p>
<p>I’ve seen rule of thumb estimates, like no more than your likely first year salary, no more than the Stafford limits, etc. Be aware that you should not overestimate your likely salary, esp. for film school graduates.</p>
<p>I think that the Stafford limits can be a good rule of thumb…however, for some majors, even that much is too much. An acting or art major shouldn’t borrow much…and those who will be teaching in lowly paid areas, shouldn’t borrow much either. </p>
<p>Some majors pay more, but they also require the person to live in pricey cities…so lots goes to rent and transportation and taxes.</p>
<p>The problem with borrowing a lot when your career interest is one that’s hard to “break into” (acting, the art world, the film world, etc) is that often the person has to take a job outside the career just to pay the loans and living expenses…and the person never gets to actually do their intended career.</p>
<p>I’m a complete novice at this, but if I work part-time every year while I’m in college, how much should I make yearly to offset the money I owe after graduating?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Are there any careers that have the “best” of it all? Is there any way that I could still pursue what I like and avoid “debt prison?”</p>
<p>“how much should I make yearly to offset the money I owe after graduating?”</p>
<p>If you work more, you should need to borrow less in the first place. You also will graduate with more work experience which should qualify you for a better job right out of college - even if that “better” job means you are now a supervisor, rather than a cashier, at Walmart.</p>
<p>It’s not just your field of work, but also your family situation. A kid who has a family that is not in dire straits and can help out in the first few years of being out on one’s own is far more able to handle a loan burden than one whose family is strapped or who is estranged. If your parents live out in the sticks and you have big city plans, you aren’t going to be able to get much help from them, if they are struggling financially themselves.</p>
<p>I have been watching my oldest two who are out of college. We live close to where they do since we are right near the city, so they borrow and take from our household, plus we give handouts on occasion. They still live hand to mouth, and they don’t have any college loans. I cannot imagine what they would be doing if they did… They really aren’t making it even without that burden. My oldest finally got a living wage job but is still behind on some things so he’s not at break even yet. He’s been out of college for 7 years now and if he had delayed his repayment or just covered the interest he would be so long in tooth before making a dent in any loans.</p>
<p>*If you work through out college maybe you could payoff atleast 8-10k before you graduate.</p>
<p>=================</p>
<p>I’m a complete novice at this, but if I work part-time every year while I’m in college, how much should I make yearly to offset the money I owe after graduating?*</p>
<p>Instead of “paying off” the loans early with earnings during the college years…why not just earn and avoid larger loans???</p>
<p>My kids earn about $70-120 per week at their part-time SCHOOL year jobs…that money covers pocket money, dates, etc.</p>
<p>During the summer is when they can earn a good bit of money. This summer, each will have earned over $4k (in addition to the above amounts). In previous summers, they have earned as much as $5500. </p>
<p>So, if you did something similar, you could apply $2k per summer towards your school costs (lessening your need for loans). That would be $8k right there…starting with the summer before college starts.</p>
<p>*
Are there any careers that have the “best” of it all? Is there any way that I could still pursue what I like and avoid “debt prison?” *</p>
<p>I think it depends on where you live. If you lived in my area and got an engineering degree, you’d be sitting pretty. The degree would be rather low cost and cost of living is lowish…and engineers are paid well.</p>
<p>@JFetrov - Thanks for posting the link to the report on earnings for different majors. It’s very interesting.
However, I just want to point out that the earnings that are cited are medians among all workers in the industry, not just recent graduates. That might be what you’d make after quite a few years in the industry.
As a recent grad you will likely not make very much money, but that is when you will begin repaying your loans.</p>
<p>IMHO $30,000 is the upper limit of what you should take out, and less would be better. On the other hand, if it is something you love and you understand that you will probably have to live cheaply once you graduate it’s not crazy.</p>
<p>The limit I gave myself was $20K, and I don’t think I’ve reached that. Run your expenses and loan amounts through some student loan calculators. Don’t depend on “average salaries for all workers” but research salaries and starting salaries for where you live or want to live. What type of jobs might you realistically land? If you’re planning on moving to LA and working your way up, starting out in the mail room or as a PA won’t be very helpful in paying back that $30K.</p>
<p>The way I looked at it is this- TV/film work is also my dream so I want to make sure I’ll be able pursue it. I want to be able to take those smaller jobs that help you work your way up without having to panic about paying back loans. I want to be able to afford to relocate if I need to. I want to be able to afford to only work part-time if part-time work is all I can find. I want to be able to intern, if that’s what I have to do to be able to get into a certain company. Basically, I don’t want to have to worry about a mountain of debt on top of all the other stresses of post-graduation life. </p>
<p>However, if you’re in a really good film program $30K doesn’t seem incredibly terrible for 4 years of school. It will be helpful to work whenever you can and/or to search hard for scholarships. There are ways you could cut around those costs too, like going to community college for general education courses, commuting, and making the costs of housing as cheap as possible. Also, be prepared for tuition to increase, as it so frequently does.</p>
<p>Then I guess it’ll be very difficult for me then. My EFC when applying for financial aid was 0. My parents are unemployed. I COULD borrow money from my sister, but that’s unethical, and I really don’t want to put myself in the position of possibly ruining my sibling relationship with her.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure don’t live in LA or NYC. Again my chances of earning a living with filmmaking are slimmed down!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The thing is, I won’t be going to a “well-known” film program. I’ll actually be going to Clark University, located in Worcester, Massachusetts. Since I live near the university, I’ll be commuting to save money. You can see, however, that the money I owe would still be $30,000. It’s hard because my chances of succeeding in the film industry, which has such a high barrier to entry (mostly reserved for kids of rich families…), are reduced because of economic status, location, and poor institutional notoriety (although Clark itself is well-known in other programs).</p>
<p>Is there anything I could do through extracurricular activities or work experience that could give me a leg up in my field? Or should I pursue another academic interest altogether as a backup in case things don’t go well financially and do filmmaking on the backhand?</p>
<p>I am aware, though, that what I need to succeed must be cultivated within myself…not on online forums. (It’s nice to have a chat with all of you here though. Thanks for your responses!)</p>
<p>If you are not willing to possibly relocate to NYC or LA, then you significantly lower your chances for finding a job and earning some money. I believe if you go into a major that is area specific, you have to be willing to go where the jobs are, especially as a Newbie in the field. If this is something you are not willing to do then you have to find another line of work that will suit you. With that said, my D’s roomate and best friend is a film student at one of the top film schools and she will be a senior this fall. She has been earning money doing freelance work in her field and another friend has done her internships abroad at the BBC. When they graduate they will be in a better position to get a job that might actually earn them some money, even if it is freelance. My point is, you have to want to do this bad enough to make it your life’s work and then that is half the battle.
The way the government loans work now, is you only have to pay back based on what you are earning. I don’t recall the percentage, but if you earn a 20,000 in a year, your payments are based on that salary. So it may not be so terrible. But keep in mind that it will take longer to pay off and the interest keeps compounding.</p>
<p>My son has some friends whose family situations are truly horrible. Not just dysfunctional, but disintegrating, and harmful. For them, if they can get a loan to get away and live at college for the next four years, it would be a good course if they can apply themselves at school and successfully get through. Yes, they will pay for long time for this reprieve, but it seems to me to be the best course. And this is from someone who is against the support of “sleep away” college.</p>
<p>And I’m sure there are more kids in that situation. If they can get someone to cosign for them and get through college, well and good. Unfortunately, from what I have personally seen in the last 10 years, they do not tend to get through college even away from the problems of home. So every single one of them within the 5 year mark and most all of them have ended up in the bad home environment after all, and with huge loan obligations to boot. So I don’t know the answer. In theory, it should work, but in actuality it is not. The reality is that too many kids and parents are not paying on these loans on schedule. That is why the interest rate is so danged high in this low interest rate climate.</p>
<p>There are some smaller film markets out there, but I’m not sure how easy it is to get work there. Otherwise you could do local work. Many cities have local video production companies that shoot weddings, dance recitals, concerts, etc. </p>
<p>If you’re commuting and still owing $30K, then that’s quite a bit. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>What is it that you want to do in the industry? If you’re wanting to leave college and immediately become a producer then yeah, that’s hard. It’s so hard to get into the industry because there are hundreds and hundreds of people fighting for the same job. It doesn’t matter how unknown your school is. Think of how many complete unknowns have simply uploaded something onto youtube and become stars in the past few years. It’s all about your talent. You can enter in a film competition via your unknown school and still get discovered by someone. Or you can live in LA your whole life and still never make it. This industry is really all about luck. Luck, networking, and true, brilliant, talent. Sometimes you have to sacrifice- you have to move to LA or NY though you’re from the other side of the country. Or maybe you don’t want to do that so you just work somewhere locally. If you’re into production then there’s a lot you can do. News production, local TV production. Sometimes cable networks will have offices throughout the country where stuff is produced. It might not be the most glamorous life and you might not be rich and famous, but it is still work in the field.</p>
<p>You could also just start producing your own low-budget, independent films. Point is, it can take years and years to break into the industry no matter where you are. But there is a lot you can do to get started.</p>
<p>I’ll take a different stance here. When it comes to education you should pursue what you love and don’t worry too much about the money problem. It’s a good practice to think about the money issue once in a while. However to put your career on hold because you’re afraid of taking some student loans is not advisable. Many successful people started out in much worse shape. Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>That’s terrible advice. Everyone should be afraid of carrying around $100,000 (or more!) of non-dischargeable student loan debt that will literally follow you to your grave if you’re unable to pay it on time.</p>
<p>goodManThinking, in another thread you said your parents are paying the entire cost of your college tuition. You’re not paying or borrowing a dime. That means you have absolutely no clue what student loans mean and what their impact on someone’s financial future could be.</p>