Finally, an article about student debt in the Globe and Mail. I cannot tell you how many hopeless conversations I've had when the "how am I ever going to repay my student loan?" remark comes up at parties. It is one of the most instantly demoralizing topics to discuss with people between the ages of 20-40.
I think student debt is the unifying issue for young Canadians right now. The current interest rate on my loan is prime plus 2% if I let it float (ie. 4.5%) or prime plus 5% (7.5%) if I lock it in. For some people with large loans (and I know people who owe 40-50k plus), the daily interest alone is more than gas or groceries. I know some people who don't even open their student loan statements because it is too demoralizing. I wouldn't recommend this but it's true.
With real wages in decline and good jobs harder to find, it's no wonder many young people can't afford to leave their parents' nest. I can't see how many people afford to buy a house, car or condo without their parents' financial assistance. People wonder why the Canadian birth rate is so low, but who could afford to have kids when they haven't even finished paying for their first degree?
As a result, there are a lot of semi-employed, highly educated young Canadians out there right now. Which might be good for the "teaching English abroad" companies, but isn't doing much to better Canadian society. It's a shame more adults don't encourage high schoolers to consider a skilled trade, when a university degree is no longer a guarantee for a good job.
The number one reason I chose not to apply to grad school was the uncertainty of landing a job afterwards. Five more years, then slug it out to become a university prof and live far away from my family? Non, merci.
As a result, I moved home and spent three years walking before I got a hand-me-down car when my grandmother passed away. During those mornings when I would walk in the freezing cold to work, I would tell myself, "you're walking off your student loan, you're walking off your student loan." I'm not whining, there are many people in the world who deal with much worse on a daily basis.
But I find it disheartening that a society which claims to value 'education' would place such a tremendous financial burden on young people seeking to get an education.
3 comments:
I tried to cover the coldest of mornings on the walk to work in the early years - I have been there, done that too Amy. For those of us that have started at the bottom, I think we better understand the sacrifices we all had to make. I HATED having to take the city bus EVERY morning to work, carrying my 30 lb audit bag up and down King St, with the bitter salty sea spray freezing to my face, but knew that I had to to make ends meet and "suck it up" that being an adult meant meeting those obligations.
I was fortunate to have good summer jobs that helped put me through school without too much debt, but it did mean living a very meek existence for the first few years. There were not many luxuires in my life in the early days. But we made the best of it, and survived it. But there have been times that I suffered through working conditions that effected me personally for the sole reason that I had a family that needed providing for. Fortunately, that is not the case now.
You, like me, know that the true important things in life aren't bought. They are freely given by those we love, care for, and owe our moral character too.
Hold fast
JFC
I didn't take the time to read the comments on the original article so don't know what was proposed there. I wish that someone in New Brunswick would develop a program to recognize "volunteer" contributions, similar to what they are talking about here:http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/CutCollegeCosts/kiss-those-student-loans-goodbye.aspx
I'm not going to complain about the spirit in which people volunteer, as long as they are willing to work hard and without complaint. and I really do think that there are lots of altruistic university grads out there who would love to get credit for their time. Just think of how awesome it would be!
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