It’s a sad comment on the cost of higher education when many students would rather pay off their student loan debt than follow their dreams. But according to a recent study by Experience, Inc., a career services company, fully half of students polled said they would choose a high-paying job that helps them pay off their debt rather than a job that offers greater career satisfaction.
This rather depressing trend remains largely true after graduation. Forty percent of recent graduates said that their debt had forced them to sacrifice career happiness for a better paying job.
Student loans are affecting decisions before graduation, as well. Almost a third (27 percent) of the 336 students and graduates polled said that their debt had influenced their decision of which field to enter, and 13 percent are accelerating their graduation date to avoid taking on more debt, the poll found. And almost half – 47 percent – say their debt had a direct impact on the career they chose to pursue.
For at least some respondents, trading happiness for money has not paid off.
“I regret choosing a career path that would help me pay off my student loans faster,” one survey taker said. “Although I am thankful for what I have, I wish I followed my heart in my career choice back in college and had not worried about my after-college financial condition.”
Weighing happiness versus financial responsibility is always a difficult balance. But as a group of slightly less-recent graduates, we at Credit.com have found that people who enjoy their work usually excel at it, while those who hate their jobs tend to show it in their performance. Perhaps by lowering other expenses for a few years – buying a cheaper car, living in a smaller apartment, making do with a smaller TV – more graduates can find job satisfaction and still have money at the end of the month to pay their student loan bill.
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No matter how well you do in school or how well the job pays, if you don’t enjoy what you do your on the job performance will suffer. When you don’t perform at your best others notice and eventually it will affect your income.
I think you have to be able to enjoy what you’re doing. The problem I think a lot of college grads are finding is trying to get to the level their parents are today quicker. It is very hard to do that when you have a large amount of student loan debt. Picking a job you enjoy will eventually pay off, but it doesn’t always happen right away. Delaying gratification and having patience offer greater rewards in life.