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OP, what’s the final cost of FSU after Bright Futures, etc?</p>
<p>Coming out with that amount of debt into politics is not a good idea. I am very involved in politics and manage a campaign at the local legislative level - as a volunteer. I do it part time because he’s in a safe district, but yes, many people have to start out in politics as full time volunteers. A good friend of mine was a regional field director for OFA in a swing state and her annualized salary was low $30s. He carried her state and she met lots of influential people and is a stone’s throw from DC but has yet to land another job since the campaign ended. She was offered the position as campaign manager for a state-wide candidate for $24k. She turned it down. Her husband is the finance director for a state-wide candidate and is making low $30s. He may be out of job soon because his candidate may drop out of the race. You are looking at the lucky few in politics who make the kind of many you are hoping for. I truly mean lucky. If you are on a high profile winning campaign, then maybe you can parlay that into something bigger. Typically, you scrounge around and travel around for low paying jobs year after year,competing with younger kids willing to work for peanuts. If you love it, you can do it and make a living - but not with that much debt. Graduating from GWU for these jobs is overkill. No one in politics cares where you get you degree - unless you’re the candidate.</p>
<p>Ok guys thank you so much! I am considering this decision a lot more seriously than I was before. As I said in my other thread, I’m planning to appeal GW’s aid package. I’m obviously not going to make any kind of decision until I know how that turns out. But as a result of all these warnings, I’m pretty sure that I will NOT go to GW if I have to take out too much debt.</p>
<p>cartera, your response was especially helpful. The RFD salary does not surprise me, but the fact that a campaign manager in a statewide race only makes $24k does! I can easily see myself in your friend’s position in a few years, and I honestly don’t know what I would do if I was offered a position like that. I don’t see how I could turn down a campaign management position at that point in my career, but how could I accept such a low salary if I was in debt? You have given me a lot to think about.</p>
<p>A couple of things I do want to clarify. First of all, I completely forgot that my grandparents set up a college fund for me with about $8,000. So my debt would be like $56k not $64k. Obviously, that’s still a lot of debt, and I’m sure most of you would say that’s too much, and you would probably be right. But at least the payments would hypothetically be a little less.</p>
<p>Also, I would NOT be trying to live in DC on a $30k salary right out of college. That would be insane. My first job would probably be working in the field in some place like Iowa, where I could get supporter housing from the campaign and have low living expenses. I NEVER said I expected to make $100k right out of college. I said I might make that money at the peak of my career, as a top-level staffer on a presidential campaign. I was an intern on a presidential campaign for over a year. I met people at all levels of the campaign hierarchy and have researched this career heavily. I know what to expect. I have a plan. And yes, my dreams are big, but I KNOW what it takes to achieve them and I have no problem with living in poverty for 10 years if that’s what it takes. </p>
<p>There are lots of kids on this site who say they want to be a doctor or an investment banker, who have no experience in that industry, but who have every encouragement from the people on this site because those jobs pay well. I know this can’t be quantified, but I have already started on the ladder to my chosen career, and I KNOW from experience that this is my niche in the world, that I love it, good or bad, AND that I am actually good at it. I was the only intern, and one of only 2 volunteers in my entire region, to be chosen to attend a major conference in DC. I was told repeatedly by my Field Organizer that I was the best volunteer she had and given every opportunity and responsibility she could find to throw at me. I am already more qualified for an entry-level job in my field than most of the FOs I worked with.</p>
<p>Don’t worry about me ending up like my mother. I love my mother to pieces, I think she is an amazing person who has done a fantastic job of raising me, but she is a total idiot when it comes to careers. I am talking about a woman who managed to get three bachelor’s degrees in the humanities that she has never used, who was offerred a job in the State Capitol in college that most people would kill for only to turn it down because she was making a little more money as a waitress, who hasn’t worked in 20 years, and who, as a single mother with no job and two small children, took out student loans to get a master’s degree in English for no apparent reason. Her latest idea is to become a cop, at the age of 50, when our city has cut the police department, because “you get paid to exercise!” I love my mother but I will NEVER end up like her.</p>
<p>The 100,000 is a reference to the amount of income the calculators indicate you would need in order to reasonably afford that amount of student loan. </p>
<p>Good luck to you.</p>
<p>there is some exciting political stuff in Florida since it is a battleground state. The more hotly contended the races, the more employment opportunity for the staffers.</p>
<p>Just talked to DH whose colleague has a son out of college for a couple of years, and is making a big $20K after working 20 or so months for free for a senator. There were a bunch of them working for free–even getting the internship was a fierce fight with many apps. And you don’t get to pick where the jobs materialize. He could have lived at home here, but the job is in the boonies, and he would not even have been able to afford it if his parents didn’t pay those costs. How he is going to make ends meet out on his own on that kind of money, is beyond me. His parents are covering his health insurance, car insurance, cell phone bill, paid the deposit for his apartment but swear that will be it other than money for trips home since they do want to see him. Oh, and they bought him a car. And they have been paying his student loans which he will be taking up–he took the Staffords only. So he’s a year a half down the road and only 8 1/2 more to go on those. And… drum roll here, he was a triple major honors grad from GW! Or maybe a triple minor honors grad. Poly Sci and I don’t know the other stuff. </p>
<p>He’s one of the lucky ones. Great resume, parents paying for enough things so he can make a go of it. A nice wardrobe, Ipad and all the fixings for success because he has family to help out. Without that, where do you think he would be right now? He’s thrilled because the job is a big $10 an hour which is more than min wage and what his brother is making in retail here. He’s a history major from Brandeis I believe, looking for a teaching job and will be going back to school for certification to stand a chance of getting anything.</p>
<p>You said your American FA was a little better. How much better? If you really feel you must be in DC, I’d take the best deal between those two schools. The gap between them is not as big as the gap between American & Georgetown – I would at least pick the cheaper option. But I also agree with those who say you CAN have a great career in politics even if you go to a state university and don’t spend your college years right in DC. I think you will be kicking yourself for taking on that level of debt later on. I wouldn’t let my kids do it.</p>
<p>from a previous post in another thread… <a href=“American%20gave%20me%2017k%20in%20institutional%20need-based,%20a%20Pell%20Grant,%20Stafford%20and%20Perkins%20loans%20and%20work-study”>quote</a>
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<p>There’s hundreds, if not more, people with more experience than you vying for the same jobs. That’s DC. And, that’s politics. Just wait a few years and you’ll realize that while you might be “better” than some people, there’s plenty of people out there better than you. That’s the real world, that’s politics, that’s reality. Feeling the best at something doesn’t guarantee you a good future salary, nor does it guarantee you’ll even get the job. It’s one thing to be decent at an UNpaid internship as a “kid” (what adults see you as right now) vs. being renowned in your field at 25 or 40 years old. Let alone, working for free vs. having a paying job. Come to DC and you’ll find people competing for jobs with you. Some of them have JDs, PhDs, and decades of well-accomplished experience seeking the same job as you. Gotta love the economy, huh? DC will humble you pretty quick in that regard. You might think you’re the most accomplished person ever, but you’re not. There’s people your age better than you who have done much more, much better, and achieved much more. That’s not an insult, that’s fact. And, there are people who have done less than you. If you’re overly arrogant about your qualifications, you’re not doing yourself any favors in politics. Especially not at 17. You were an intern. The reality is there are plenty of qualified people for every job, and thousands compete for the same job. You save you have researched, but you’re seriously overestimating your earnings. And, if it takes the peak of your career to make $100,000 a year, you still want $100K+ in loans?</p>
<p>You say you don’t mind living in poverty in 10 years. What makes you think your salary will increase that much? In 10 years, your student loans will have gathered a good deal of interest. Your payments on those loans will go up over time. Income taxes, rents, etc. will likely go up. Smart, experience people don’t want to take out $100K in student loans and be poor for at least 10 years. With that much in loans and in this economy, you would be lucky to even be able to afford rent after student loan payments. You’re 17. People here are more experienced and know the reality of debt and salaries. </p>
<p>Even $30,000 in Iowa isn’t going to cut it if you take out $100,000 plus in loans.</p>
<p>And, yes, I went to GWU. Yes, it was fun. Yes, I’m in huge debt… and thought some of what you’re thinking as a 17 year old. Bottom line, $100K+ is too much debt for a to bachelor’s degree. And, you’re overestimating the ease of both finding jobs and what those jobs pay. Not to mention, you don’t always get to choose what city you want to live in when trying to land a job in politics… you move where you can get hired. And, politics means long hours for relatively little pay for a good number of years.</p>
<p>cptofthehouse–</p>
<p>True about DC graduate seeming “monied” right after graduation with their parents bankrolling their life. I know plenty of GWU graduates (and Georgetown, etc. graduates) whose parents pay their rent, cars, phone payments, and more… just so these kids can work their “dream jobs” that pay so little in salary. Poor teens don’t realize this yet.</p>
<p>OP, I can tell how excited you are about political work. From a fellow political junkie, here’s a very good reason not to take out big loans: You won’t be able to work in the field you love. You’ll have to find a job in an unrelated field – just so you can make the loan payments. Bite the bullet for the next four years, and you’ll have much less weighing you down when you follow your dreams after graduation.</p>
<p>gwgrad, I don’t think I’m “better” than anybody else. I didn’t say that and I’m sorry I came across that way, because I fully realize that I’m no better than anyone else. And of course I realize my career will be hard; did you not see me write that I would be happy to be poor if that’s what it took?</p>
<p>What I said was that when I was an intern, I worked harder than anyone else, and I was recognized by my peers and my superiors. I didn’t say that I had any kind of natural “talent” at politics or organizing. And I didn’t say I was more qualified for an entry-level field position than the others because I was trying to brag or boast. I said it because it is a fact; with this internship, I have more experience in politics than EVERY SINGLE FO I worked with accept for one. It stands to reason that I would be able to find some kind of job in the field if I were more qualified than the majority of people I was competing against. I resent people accusing me of arrogance when I am simply acknowledging that I was able to achieve recognition and opportunities as a result of very intense work in a small niche area that I happen to be passionate about.</p>
<p>By the way, a field organizer is not a bad job. Yes, the pay is low, but I know for a fact that any staff who have to relocate can live in supporter housing (aka a volunteer’s guest room) for free, and the campaign also sends gas cards regularly so gas is basically free. There’s also a health plan, a free smartphone and a free laptop. Any candidate I would work for would take care of their own, and campaigns know there will be fallout if the press discovers that their staff are living in poverty or on public assistance. No one ever got rich as a field organizer, sure, but I will certainly survive - and I’ve been living very frugally my entire life.</p>
<p>I am even considering taking a leave of absence from college in fall 2016 to work in the presidential election. I know several GW students have done this before and I know people at other schools who have done this, and I have enough dual enrollment and AP credits to do this and still graduate on time. That way, I would graduate just as the midterm campaigns were hiring their first staffers with a relevant degree and work experience under my belt.</p>
<p>Come to think of it, I already have enough college credit to graduate in three years, if I so chose. Hmm…</p>
<p>There is that not so little matter of the loan repayments while you are living on that small stipend. There will a lot of fall out if it come out that staff members are defaulters on their student loans while working on these campaigns.</p>
<p>Field organizer is not a “bad job” but neither is it a position where you’ll be able to live even halfway decently while paying off $64,000 in student loans. And what happens when the midterm campaign is over?</p>
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<p>It would be great if life worked that way, but it doesn’t. Especially in politics. If you’ve been inside as much as you say you have, then you’ve no doubt seen the sausagemaking. American politics is nowhere close to a meritocracy.</p>
<p>You don’t need to borrow $65,000 to get a great undergraduate education and work in politics. That’s more money than I’ve borrowed to get a bachelor’s and master’s degree, the latter from a Big Ten flagship. Even with a good federal job, my loan payments are going to be about 1/4 of my starting take-home pay. It’s big money you’re talking about.</p>
<p>Gwgrad, my kids were and are spoiled in that we took care of everything right through college, and because of where we lived and where they went to school, they got to know a disproportionate number of kids from familes that are truly well to do. Some of them so rich that their kids are likely never to have to work. Many more, who will have to work for some core amount, but will be well subsidized when it comes to buying a house, car, school for their own kids, any extras. You can’t compete with that, and to be resentful, or feel that this is the way it is or should be is a warped perspective. Just as my kids are privileged as to not having any school loans and have the security of parents nearby who can step in if push comes to shove, and yes, we help out here and there too, it’s just another shade of the spectrum Those who truly have to do it all themselves have a tough go of it and cannot compare their lots and budgets with those who have help. </p>
<p>There are those who PAY for the campaign experience. With that kind of situation, there is no way one can expect to get paid much. </p>
<p>There is no way to get to a 17,18, even 22 year old to understand the way it truly works in the world and work place. They have to learn themselves.</p>
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<p>This.</p>
<p>Campaign jobs are not exactly the most stable jobs. And, your expenses aren’t covered 100% either. There’s relocation expenses (sometimes covered), eating out, transportation costs, healthcare, student loan payments, car payments, etc.</p>
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<p>That’s not how it works, and you’re still overestimating your qualifications. There are plenty of people with the same, or better, qualifications as you-- often with more experience— competing for the same jobs. You’re 17/18. You’re a newbie in the field.</p>
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<p>True. Gotta love 17/18 year old’s who assume they can get any job they want after completing one teen internship. One internship doesn’t equate to “more experience than every FO except one.” Hopefully the OP doesn’t go into huge debt for a degree. It would be much wiser to attend a cheap college for a BA, take a semester or two off to intern for a campaign, then to go to a top tier law school afterwards for patent law.</p>
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<p>True. Well said.</p>
<p>That is so true. I have a son who is an aspiring actor. He’s good enough to get just enough work in his field that he so loves, to keep him going with part time jobs supplementing. But he has zero school loans. Had he owed money on top of what it costs for living and auditioning expenses, there is no way he could be doing what he is. Even so, he’s at a point of looking for a more stable work, tired of being poor. He has a lot of friends who have defaulted on their student loans and the prospect of paying them after letting them go a few years is frightening. The interest gallops away as do the late fees. There is plenty on this board about how difficult it is to pay these loans. If family is not able to help out, this in a terrible monkey on a young person’s back. </p>
<p>Being an intern is a whole other thing than being paid for your work… My son was the shining star in any internships. He also gets offers to do work for free all of the time and has had some wonderful experiences and roles for free and very low pay work. It’s when you are trying to get a living wage that things start taking different turn.</p>
<p>I have not read this whole thread…do of this has been stated…my apologies. Many jobs in politics are not particularly stable. If the person you are working for doesn’t seek reelection OR doesn’t win the election, you will be out looking for a job again…along with ALL the other folks in the same position as well as new grads.</p>