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A successful academic faces lifelong debt

chronicle.com

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Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#11

Post by likpok »

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

If she is current on other financial obligations, should't she be able to finance that $30K at much less than 10%? So, the interest portion would be $3K/year. Is that a significant portion of a Dartmouth Assistant Professor's income? I live in the MidWest, and cleaning "ladies" want $20-$25/hour under-the-table. Perhaps she should take on such work on Saturdays to reduce her debt load. [As an aside, I can't understan…

Strictly speaking, if you make more than that you are better off hiring someone to clean for you.

Realistically, if an hour of free time is worth $25 (and to many people it seems that it is), you should go for it.

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#12

Post by coliveira »

hegemonicon wrote: post #6
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

If she is current on other financial obligations, should't she be able to finance that $30K at much less than 10%? So, the interest portion would be $3K/year. Is that a significant portion of a Dartmouth Assistant Professor's income? I live in the MidWest, and cleaning "ladies" want $20-$25/hour under-the-table. Perhaps she should take on such work on Saturdays to reduce her debt load. [As an aside, I can't understan…

That's what I'd like to know - how LITTLE does an assistant professor make that 60,000 dollars of debt will take a lifetime to pay off, even in the absence of a mortgage (and presumably a car) payment?

Assistant professors in humanities (even at an Ivy League school) don't make much money.

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#13

Post by yummyfajitas »

jnovek wrote: post #7
patio11 wrote: post #2

Maybe being an assistant professor of Native American studies is a lifestyle choice to be indulged in by people who are either married to or descended from people who did commercially valuable work? The engineering department has spots available for us kids who have to work for a living.

Agreed, doing what you love should be a privilege reserved for the affluent! She was a fool to dream beyond her class; thankfully, she's paying for it now. I hope it stands as a lesson to others.

Yes, doing whatever you want regardless of it's commercial viability is a privilege reserved for the affluent.

Perhaps one day we will become so wealthy that robots do all the work, and people don't have to do anything they don't like. Until then, most of us need to do work that benefits others in order to survive.

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#14

Post by weaksauce »

hegemonicon wrote: post #6
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

If she is current on other financial obligations, should't she be able to finance that $30K at much less than 10%? So, the interest portion would be $3K/year. Is that a significant portion of a Dartmouth Assistant Professor's income? I live in the MidWest, and cleaning "ladies" want $20-$25/hour under-the-table. Perhaps she should take on such work on Saturdays to reduce her debt load. [As an aside, I can't understan…

That's what I'd like to know - how LITTLE does an assistant professor make that 60,000 dollars of debt will take a lifetime to pay off, even in the absence of a mortgage (and presumably a car) payment?

according to the chronicle the average assistant professor salary is ~$80k. I doubt that a native american studies assistant professor will get that much but I have been wrong before.

http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/index.php?action=result&...

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#15

Post by sschronk »

hegemonicon wrote: post #6
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

If she is current on other financial obligations, should't she be able to finance that $30K at much less than 10%? So, the interest portion would be $3K/year. Is that a significant portion of a Dartmouth Assistant Professor's income? I live in the MidWest, and cleaning "ladies" want $20-$25/hour under-the-table. Perhaps she should take on such work on Saturdays to reduce her debt load. [As an aside, I can't understan…

That's what I'd like to know - how LITTLE does an assistant professor make that 60,000 dollars of debt will take a lifetime to pay off, even in the absence of a mortgage (and presumably a car) payment?

I only make about $30.00/Hr as a professor of Computer Science.

The colleges don't pay very well and the degree required to get the job is very expensive and time consuming.

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#16

Post by ShabbyDoo »

likpok wrote: post #11
ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

If she is current on other financial obligations, should't she be able to finance that $30K at much less than 10%? So, the interest portion would be $3K/year. Is that a significant portion of a Dartmouth Assistant Professor's income? I live in the MidWest, and cleaning "ladies" want $20-$25/hour under-the-table. Perhaps she should take on such work on Saturdays to reduce her debt load. [As an aside, I can't understan…

Strictly speaking, if you make more than that you are better off hiring someone to clean for you. Realistically, if an hour of free time is worth $25 (and to many people it seems that it is), you should go for it.

I agree. However, with all the bitching about how bad it is to be "poor" in America, there ought to be people standing on the sidewalks in nice communities advertising their cleaning services if they can get these prices.

It's worth it, but I question why the market clearing price isn't lower.

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#17

Post by [deleted] »

jnovek wrote: post #7
patio11 wrote: post #2

Maybe being an assistant professor of Native American studies is a lifestyle choice to be indulged in by people who are either married to or descended from people who did commercially valuable work? The engineering department has spots available for us kids who have to work for a living.

Agreed, doing what you love should be a privilege reserved for the affluent! She was a fool to dream beyond her class; thankfully, she's paying for it now. I hope it stands as a lesson to others.

[deleted]

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#18

Post by cce »

ShabbyDoo wrote: post #3

If she is current on other financial obligations, should't she be able to finance that $30K at much less than 10%? So, the interest portion would be $3K/year. Is that a significant portion of a Dartmouth Assistant Professor's income? I live in the MidWest, and cleaning "ladies" want $20-$25/hour under-the-table. Perhaps she should take on such work on Saturdays to reduce her debt load. [As an aside, I can't understan…

I think that she mentioned 'bad debt' -- this is typically a reference to consumer-level debt, often at 15-26% interest. Assuming 20% usury, the interest payments alone are $500/month, or 20% of her disposable income assuming she's lucky enough to have a assistant professor post (45-60k) -- adjunct professors make far less. Likely she also has another 20-60k in 'good debt' as educational loans at a more reasonable 8-12% interest.

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#19

Post by sschronk »

weaksauce wrote: post #14
hegemonicon wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's what I'd like to know - how LITTLE does an assistant professor make that 60,000 dollars of debt will take a lifetime to pay off, even in the absence of a mortgage (and presumably a car) payment?

according to the chronicle the average assistant professor salary is ~$80k. I doubt that a native american studies assistant professor will get that much but I have been wrong before. http://chronicle.com/stats/aaup/index.php?action=result&...

That seems like a lot of money. But if you will, please consider this simple scenario:

Even after you obtain your degree you will start out as an Adjunct Professor. These jobs pay about 2-4K per course.

After you have done that for about 10 years or so you might land a job as a professor at a community college.

Now you're making about $40-55K. Teach there for another 5-10 years until you finally get a job at a University to make that $80K.

Compare this (if you will) to the same person who leaves college with Ph.D and starts at $75K.

The difference in earnings over a lifetime is huge.

Re: A successful academic faces lifelong debt

#20

Post by j_baker »

cynicalkane wrote: post #9
jnovek wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, doing what you love should be a privilege reserved for the affluent! She was a fool to dream beyond her class; thankfully, she's paying for it now. I hope it stands as a lesson to others.

I know you were being sarcastic, but this is 100% true. Doing what you love, instead of what is useful, is a privilege, not a right.

That's only if doing what you love is truly not useful, which it usually isn't. I'd say that 90% of the time, a person who does what they love is more useful than a person who does what they don't love.
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