Another School Question

[puckhead]

Hey everyone first time posting here although I have been reading for a month or two and it seems like some solid advice here. My question is pretty simple and probably a no brainer but I would like some random advice too. I am currently 22 and work as a pilot for Northwest Airlink (now part of the Delta Connection family). I make pretty bad money (27K this year maybe) and have yet to finish a college degree. My question is would you guys take out the loans to finish two and a half years of college to get that degree which would open up better paying jobs or pay as you go as I have been doing thus far. My only debt is a car payment that is very managable. Thanks for the advice!

[jasonnoguchi]

pay as you go. never take a loan on money you can afford to pay yourself. why pay interest for nothing?

[mainyy]

sell out your car and go to finish your college degree.

[Saving_spree]

I would never take a loan when I am not earning enough.

[cschin4]

I disagree. At 27, time is on your side. And, you need to complete and finish your degree because if you don't, "life" happens and before you know it you are married, with kids, house mortgage and on and on and it becomes much more difficult. So, I think taking a loan to finish your degree would be a reasonable and wise financial move. But, obviously you should do whatever you can do to mitigate the costs including working, flying private contracts on the side (if you are allowed to do so), etc.

[buildmybudget]

I agree with cschin4, now is the time to go and if you will realize an immediate jump in earning potential it will be a wise investment. One caveat is the degree you're going to get? Will it be a degree you can use to earn more money? What degree are you thinking of getting?

[snafu]

Get a degree...it opens so many doors. I can't imagine all the new jobs that will develop over the next 30 years just as our parents couldn't imagine all the technology we take for granted today which provides well paying careers.

Do some research and find out what scholarships, grants, low interest loans are available for returning students.

[lovcom]

I have a strong bias against taking out a loan for tuition, however if you must, I'd take out a "small" loan to cover a fraction of the cost of tuition and books, relying on the money I make on the current job to pay the balance. I would only do this if it would significantly decrease the time it will take to graduate or attaint the certification you require, and only if the return on your educational investment makes good sense.

Keep flying as that will add nice experience to your resume. To quit to finish school would be foolish.

Completing one's education is only good if whatever one is learning can cause one to make very good money. I know a lot of MBA'ers that make crud money, and have sky high school loans....because some one encourged them to do the school thing at any cost, with such loans...foolish, to be sure.

Step back and see if the cost of tuition & books & time will pay you good dividends in the short term future (next 5 years), and if not it might be a mistake to go that direction.

Treat education like a business decision...calculate the ROI (return on investment) and never educate yourself just for the sake of getting educated....too many sociologist majors out there selling shoes :-(

Also, you being young, never have an attitude of "I'm young I should take my time"....you need to approach your career from a premise of time being profoundly valuable and not to be wasted. Not saying you're doing this, I just wanted to mention this for grins.

[puckhead]

Hey thanks for all the great responses! I Think I will probably look into the loan route since I dont want to miss the next hiring wave at the major airlines. The one new downside is I might be loosing my job due to plane cuts by the end of summer. If that happens I should be early enough in my degree to take another look at my major and decide if I want to keep going with that or move on to something else. Right now the two degrees I am considering are something is business (finanace, Econ, or Business Admin) OR going into the pharmacy program and running with that. That will have to be a decision I make a little later though and will depend on my chances of landing another airline job.

[lovcom]

whatever direction you go, research what kind of $$ that direction will pay, what demand for such people is, and that sort of thing. I have a sister that didn't ask herself these questions, so she burnt through mom & dad's retirement to master in sociology, and now she sells shoes, and at the rate of her payments she makes to our parents, she should be done by 2350 :-(

[segmond]

take a loan and finish your degree.