Times are getting tough, not only for parents, but also for recent graduates. First, they have to deal with the high cost of acquiring a college education, then they have to deal with the high student loans weighing on their shoulders after graduating. That’s not all. The long, agonizing, and sometimes depressing job of finding a job begins soon after. You see, getting a college degree doesn’t mean you automatically get a job. Unfortunately, many graduates have had to find this out in a cruel way.
For those that are lucky to find a job, many have to deal with low pay. However, that only applies to certain careers. This means that before you start college, make sure you pick a career path that will make economic sense.
Don’t sweat it though because this article dug through a ton of data from two credible sources, PayScale and Bankrate, to assemble 9 jobs you don’t want to pay off your college debt with.
- Family and Marriage Therapist
Don’t get it twisted now. Helping married couples and families sail through a storm is a noble cause. However, by the time you retire from this job, you’ll need therapy. Why? Well, after 34+ years of offering valuable advice, you’ll still be trying to pay off your student debt.
Imagine spending a whopping six years beating project deadlines in college to get that coveted degree, which by the way will set you back $68,010 in tuition fees alone. Here comes the sad part. Wait for it!
After graduating and getting lucky to find a job, you’ll earn $46,670 in average income as a therapist. Deduct your monthly costs and other bad credit cash loan repayments and you’ll see why a therapy will be just what you need after 34 years. Sounds discouraging, huh?
- An Elementary or High School Teacher
Another noble job that doesn’t translate to its paycheck. According to Bankrate, this is a full-time teacher who’ll make around $30,000 than to a teacher in post-secondary education.
You’ll rack up at least $52,000 in student loans during the four years of chasing your education degree. While this may be way less than what post-secondary teachers fork out in tuition fees while in college, full-time teachers earn an average of only $43,400. You can do the math and find out how many years it’ll take you to pay off that loan.
- Public Relations Specialist
This sounds like an attractive job on face value. However, 14 years after graduation is the amount of time needed to clear the average student loan. The only bright side to this profession is the little time spent acquiring the degree.
Nevertheless, the pay that accompanies this profession will leave you in tears. At an average $54,170, you’ll be bending over backward to pay off the student loan.
- Ministry and Theological Services
These two areas are more service-oriented than money-makers, although Pat Robertson may have a different say about that. Not everyone fits in these jobs. They’re more than just the education one receives in college. It’s a calling.
A report by PayScale indicates that average earnings for employees in the religious sector only go as far as the mid $30,000.
- Health Administration
Health is a critical aspect of any country for obvious reasons. If anything, there should be more administrators, despite the overflowing number already working in hospitals and clinics countrywide. Offering your expertise to improve the healthcare system is a great job.
However, it’s the paycheck that will discourage you, and even worse, get you into serious financial problems down the line. With a starting salary of around $30,000 and mid-career earnings later rising to $56,000, there’s a chance, you’ll be paying off your student loans for a long time to come.
- Exercise Science
As a recent graduate in this field, the initial earnings will leave sad for quite a while. A degree in exercise science can open up a career in physical therapy, a trainer, or even something related to physiology. Nevertheless, with student loans weighing you down, chances are you’ll be in the repayment category for the longest time. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, expect to make about $18.50 an hour. Therefore, this makes this path unviable in the long run.
- Culinary Arts
It may sound sophisticated, but culinary arts is all about cooking. Being a chef at the top level, for example in 5-star hotels, pays well, but is highly competitive and complicated. Anyway, back to the real business. Getting a degree in this field will leave you with high student loans.
Even after struggling to get this degree, you’ll have to make do with the lousy starting salary. This is despite the potential to work your way up to the top. However, it’s a known fact that kitchen environments can be difficult to work in.
According to PayScale, a degree in culinary arts will get you just over $23,000 as starting salary, with mid-career salaries leveling out at $56,000.
- Social Work
You’ve probably seen social workers volunteering for various tasks in the community or have seen people guilty of misdemeanors sentenced to certain hours of community service. Don’t get it wrong. Social work is a noble job, but the hours you have to put in are crazy. That’s not to mention how tough these jobs can get.
To top it all off, you have to contend with the meager pay to settle your bills and student loans and still expect to enjoy yourself. According to data from PayScale, the starting salary of a social worker is about $33,000. The pay will then rise to $45,000 at mid-career, still not enough to pay off student loans.
- Librarian
Often, librarians will have earphones on while perusing a book from the shelves as they assist library users. Sounds like a boring job, but it takes at least six years for you to become a librarian. The worst part is that for that amount of time in school, they have to take home $55,370 in median salary and a starting salary of about $34,000. For this, they’ll have to wait over 22 years to pay off an average student loan.