In (my part of) Canada it’s actually worse than that since you’ll need an apprenticeship, and companies simply aren’t interested.
The situation for trades is like in other ndustries–many companies have this insane notion that training their own workforces should be someone else’s problem…
The solution is not difficult. Most student loans are in deferment as long as you are enrolled for six credits, or half time. At least in California, it is possible to enroll in junior colleges for a nominal fee of less than $400 per semester. There are so many classes that you could take that you could potentially do this for the rest of your life. The other upside is that you do not have to finish these classes. You just have to enroll in them, and stay enrolled long enough for the school to notify your loan agencies. I’ve done this successfully for 10 years. My subsidized student loans are still in deferment and not have not generated any interest. I have no plans whatsoever to ever pay these loans back, because doing so is optional. If only it were optional to pay off your mortgage and still keep your house.
Your confusion is understandable when the dominant paradigm is that somebody has to get eaten!
In the modern business world, we assume competition (which admittedly is obviously valuable) must always pre-empt co-operation. It seems like the only time the dominant political and/or economic classes invoke co-operation is when they want to exploit someone, and the rest of us go along with it, to the point where the common people would rather belittle each other for their differences than join together to achieve shared goals.
California is different from all other states in the USA, and profoundly different from most eastern states. Other than language, you have more in common with France than you do with Georgia or Delaware. I wouldn’t count on anything that you do in Cali’s educational environment mapping well to any other place in the USA, and I’m pretty sure you can’t get in the door of any accredited higher educational institution around here for $400. (Well, unless you find a way to qualify for scholarship opportunities that would otherwise go to underserved populations trying to escape structural racism by highly educating their children.)
EDIT: I’ve just been corrected, in record time. If you’re over 50 you can get “continuing education” for $400 or less.
Huh. Well said. And here I had you pegged as a republican!
If current trends continue, there will eventually be nobody left in the GOP literate enough to register to vote other than myself and @Mister44, AND THEN YOU’LL SEE SOME CHANGES.
We’ll remember our friends when the time comes, too. Or at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
True keeping advanced education diverse is incredible important, but my point was that marketable skills are what people need to get through HR of a company to get better paying jobs so you can have the time and money to read, discuss ideas and develop the non marketable skills. I can’t tell you how many people I have meet with degrees who are employed in that well paying field and can barely discuss the field or aspects of the job, when asked how did they get the job the answer is ‘has the appropriate degree’. The definition of learning needs to be expanded beyond college/university style of ‘class, homework, test’ (repeat until have degree) even for traditional fields like law.
“Staying a college student forever” is a solution to student debt like “never leaving the all-you-can-eat buffet” is a solution to finding affordable food and shelter.
You’re just so adorable, bless your little heart.
Aren’t you two the Koch Brothers (or is it Kick Brothers)?
Have you tried the chocolate wonderfall at a Golden Corral?
If you like. But student loans are quite different from any other kind of
loan. While at once you can’t be freed of the burden by bankruptcy, you do
have the option of not paying them if you are careful. There are numerous
schools where you can drop a class by the end of the third week of the
term, such that the class does not appear on a transcript and sometimes a
full refund can be given. If the class is an online class, you would only
have to fake participation for the first couple of weeks. If you push the
school to notify loan companies that you are enrolled at the very start of
the semester, you can be placed in deferment, and it can’t be revoked. The
language of master promissory notes, at least form a decade ago, states
that you must be enrolled half time to be in deferment, not that you need
to finish the class. It’s also crucial to maintain your six month grace
period so that you only need to be enrolled at five month intervals to be
safe. This is certainly an annoying task to contend with, but I’m pretty
sure I would find it much more annoying to be harassed by marshals, abused
by the court system, and certainly more annoying to pay back the $150k I
owe.
Go ahead and pay those student loans if you like. I’m sure you didn’t need
that money anyway.
Planning to spend the rest of your living days as a half-time college student can limit your life choices if you want to do things like “have a full-time career” or “spend time with your family and friends” or “live past age 50 when that ‘Continuing Education’ loophole expires.”
So not what I’d consider an ideal solution, at any rate.
Edit to add:
While this can be an effective way to avoid making payments on loans it can also have negative consequences for colleges and faculty. Courses and schools that have low completion rates are more likely to result in extra scrutiny and/or state funding cuts.
Someone always ends up paying the piper.
I left mine, and it was an excellent decision for me.
No, and it is a matter of deep concern that those two units have escaped our secret animatronics facility.
But JC’s have such low pass rates anyway, so it comes out in the wash. You
can all pay the piper if you like, I sure as fuck ain’t.
The real solution is to wipe all federal student debt. Best economics
stimulus imaginable.
I agree with that part. Or at least cap it to a reasonable amount.
I think we should make all public colleges and universities tuition-free like that crazy old socialist keeps saying. That’s the way things used to be in California, which is one of the main reasons California has Silicon Valley.
Nice. Shame on them!!
