The financial side of getting a graduate degree, advice please!

[liberal_chick]

I currently hold a BSE in social science (basically, I'm a certified high school social studies teacher) with $30K is undergrad student loans.

I had a great job teaching until 2 years ago, when dh's job relocated us to a much more rural area. I have been unable to secure a job in my field since and, in fact, haven't been able to find a single job in the area that would cover the cost of 2 in child care and still leave any money left over.

In my search through the classifieds over the last 6 months, I've noticed the only jobs in this area that seem to be hiring are plumbers, electricians, CNAs, and nurses. I am frustrated, to say the least.

So the thought occurred to me that maybe I should go back to grad school. Of course, being 3 hours from any city with a university, I would have to do it totally online. And we can't afford to pay for it out of pocket, so that would mean taking on more student loans.

Additionally, I feel like I would need to piggy-back a grad degree on the degree I already have (I wouldn't be able to hack it in an RN program or a MBA program, for example). But the fields I'm interested in (library science or social work) also don't seem to be hiring here on a regular basis.

So I'm torn as to what I should do. It seems like such a risk to take on the student loan debt when there aren't copious amounts of jobs floating around, but what I have now certainly isn't cutting it.

And it isn't likely that dh's job will be able to get him to a decently populated area anytime soon. We are stuck here.

[MeepyCat]

I wouldn't take on extra debt for a degree that still wouldn't get you a job where you live. Also, I wouldn't tackle grad school at all without a really strong desire for the degree in question - whether that's because you love the knowledge or want to work in the field is really up to you, but it is a lot to go through without a specific goal in mind.

[EFmom]

I'm an academic librarian. I love my job, and make an OK salary (on par with being a teacher). But the odds of there being oodles of librarian jobs in a rural area are pretty lousy. Many rural public libraries employ at most one professional, and sometimes not even that full-time. While I have seen a few professional librarian jobs advertised nationally in the last month or so, it's pretty tight. I lived in a sparsely populated rural area and ended up having to move to get a decent job.

An MSW will most likely leave you with the ability to make less than a librarian. The chances of that kind of career leaving you with appreciable money left over after paying child care are slim.

I would never take on additional debt for either of these two careers. They just don't pay enough to make it worthwhile. I got my MLS by taking one or two courses in the evening, while working full time. It took several years to get the degree, but I didn't take loans.

[EmsMom]

I don't think that either of those degrees would pay off, especially in a rural area. Is there maybe another line of teaching that would make you more marketable? Special Ed? Administration? Some kind of special testing or certification to be on a child study team? Tough right now to find work in the rural areas, but I don't see how taking on more student loan debt would help. Of course, I should talk as I am getting my master's in public policy and international affairs. But I got quickly talked out of a MSW - just not enough money. So I am learning the administrative end -- policy analysis, program evaluation, human resources, and grant writing in addition to the MPP. You really have to be creative in this market....

[HeatherAtHome]

I wouldn't take on more debt at this point especially if you're not even sure you'd get a job from it!

What are you looking for exactly? Extra income? A chance to get out of the house? You could do different things depending on your answer.

What about tutoring? At the very least, get in touch with your local schools, tell them what your qualifications are and ask if they have something available. Maybe you would start out volunteering before moving to a paid job. At the very least they could post notices about tutoring or recommend you to any parents who are interested in getting extra help for their kids.

[Logan's Mom]

Wow, you are definately in a tough spot. I'm not too familiar with your field, so I won't have as much to offer. As far as social work, I was going to head in that direction. I would suggest looking into it further before you make a commitment. You would have to get a degree and put in X amount of hours to "get your hours in" which are often unpaid.

Other things to consider: In rural areas, yes, finding certain jobs is tough. There are areas that may be lucrative to go into that are needed anyplace. For example, if you went back to school to be a dental hygenist, that pays pretty well and the hours are often flexible. What about getting a certificate as a radiologist or something and work at the local hospital. With that said, I'm not sure how far away those types of programs would be and how much you could do online.

My experience with my graduate degree (and this in my experience only) is that I received my MBA and started at a company at a hire level then those employees with just a bachelors degree. At the starting point (and we all started in the same training program) I was making 20k more then those with just a bachelors. Fast forward 10 years. I am still making at least 20k more then people with just a bachelors who started even before I did. Furthermore, I make about 5k less then a person who has worked for the company 25 years. She got her bachelors and masters while working for the company. While the company paid for her degrees and I'm still paying for mine, overall, I made out better coming in with my MBA.

Food for thought.

[Jayray]

When I went to grad school, I decided the only way I'd do it is if they paid me to go. I have a PhD in chemistry and was able to pay down some of my undergrad loans when I was in grad school.

I'd say it would depend a lot on the degree you decided to get and if you'd be able to get a job with it after you finished. If you said you wanted to go into history, English, political science, I'd say don't do it. If you said a masters in education, special ed, maybe social work, then I'd say consider it some more and maybe do it.

[shayinme]

Even though I have a masters degree I am inclined to say no. I moved to a rural state (maine) 8 yrs ago and got my masters but frankly it has not worked out financially. Before I started grad school I only had about $30,000 in debt from my BA its now over $100,000 thanks to the masters. I work in the non-profit sector and have oodles of experience both in Maine and Chicago. Yet while this same background in Chicago would probably have me making close to 6 figures in any large city that is not the case living here. The degree most certainly opened doors in terms of consulting and even getting my current job (Executive Director) but financially I am struggling because of the loan debt.

In my area its similiar to what you describe as far as the job market, I am also stuck in my area as well due to housing market (upside is our house is paid off so it makes my low wages tolerable).

Working in human services and running a non profit, I can say that in most cases an MSW is not going to be profitable especially in a rural state. With the exception of folks who work at agencies and have their own practice most folks I know here earn between 25-45K with an MSW. It also is a large time committment when in school because of the intern hours, etc.

[wildmama]

A lot of people don't realize that with an MSW you can do a lot more than work in social services/child welfare, etc. You can go into private practice, work in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. There is high earning potential in a lot of those fields. Much more than a teacher.

[liberal_chick]

Thank you so much for the input! Certainly great food for thought.

Originally Posted by HeatherAtHome

I wouldn't take on more debt at this point especially if you're not even sure you'd get a job from it!

What are you looking for exactly? Extra income? A chance to get out of the house? You could do different things depending on your answer.

What about tutoring? At the very least, get in touch with your local schools, tell them what your qualifications are and ask if they have something available. Maybe you would start out volunteering before moving to a paid job. At the very least they could post notices about tutoring or recommend you to any parents who are interested in getting extra help for their kids.

As far as what I'm looking for, all of the above, I guess! I do want to get out of the house and the extra income would be a huge help in paying off debt, which we can pay for fine but aren't making any true headway on.

I don't know how qualified a tutor I am. Most people don't need tutoring in the social studies. I'm not going to do anyone any good as a math or science tutor. I have considered subbing in the local schools, but then I'd need to find child care on a drop-in or part time basis, which isn't easy.

Originally Posted by wildmama

A lot of people don't realize that with an MSW you can do a lot more than work in social services/child welfare, etc. You can go into private practice, work in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. There is high earning potential in a lot of those fields. Much more than a teacher.

This was my hope with a MSW. The hospital here (the only one in the county) has had an opening for a MSW for months and months, which is what kind of turned me on to the field. However, the only online MSW for non-BSW students I've found isn't accepting new students until January of 2012.


It turns out this is kind of a moot issue. My mother called yesterday and offered to pay for my grad school. Totally unexpected and absolutely appreciated! She is such a big proponent of continuing education and she said she wanted to help me do it without loans (and she paid for my sister's nursing school, so she may have felt a wee bit guilty ).

[K1329]

What great news! You're lucky to have such family support.

I suspect that you are already aware of this... but, when searching for an online program, make sure you select one that's accredited by a recognized accrediting agency. At my university, we have many students come in with transfer credits and they are completely shocked to find out our school won't accept them - that they were attending a non-accredited school. Often times, they've gone into debt to attend these schools, too. I've also seen MSW openings that want a degree from an accredited school. Be careful when choosing programs - there are some fraudulent ones out there.

Good luck!

[Chamomile Girl]

Well, I have a teaching credential in social science and a master's degree. I also have 80K in student loans, and am unemployed. I moved to a new area this year and have not yet been able to find a teaching job. When I did have a job my master's only netted me an extra $1000 a year. So from a financial standpoint its not really worth much.

From an academic standpoint, that master's is worth gold. I am a much better teacher because of it.