Study Loans - Is It Worth It?

Just today I saw a news article that states that a former student racked up a study loan of RM 890,000. The student allegedly was studying medicine but then failed to finish the course. So here we have someone with almost RM 1 million in loans for study but then failed to finish.

Even if the student did finish the course, is it worth it to start out your working life with RM 890k in debt? When is one ever going to finish paying up the loan? Even if it does not come with any interest (which I highly doubt) it will take a lifetime at least, in my opinion!

Not so long ago, I read on MSN that one US student racked up USD 60k in study loans. This one graduated but then is now having a hard time paying up the debt.

My question is, is it worth it? Getting yourself deep into debt for a degree that guarantees almost nothing but proof that you attended a course? It does not even guarantee a job after graduating but you can be sure the creditors are going to be on your back, heckling you to pay up.

Sometimes I find myself with this question : Is it worth it? Spending a fortune for studies?

I mean one does need to have academic qualifications but where do we draw the line? Getting knee deep into debt even before one graduates is surely not a wise move. Just how valuable is a degree?

I have no answer to that but I'm surely against racking up debts before one can even manage to earn a living. A better solution is maybe to delay one's pursuit of academic qualifications. Maybe one can start by finding a job in one's area of interest after secondary school or maybe just get a basic diploma in the area before going into the job market.

Start low and work to gain experience and find an area of specialization. You get real world experience and a chance save up for your education. Once you have found your area of specialization, then you can get further education in that specific area. Maybe do a course part-time or via distance or on-line learning which is generally lower in terms of costs.

This way one can get relevant paper qualification and avoid mountains of debt. In this materialistic society, it does not bode well to ensnare oneself in debts even before you start to earn. There's more than enough temptation to get one into debt even if one starts out at zero. Frivolous use of credit cards coupled with the lack of financial education for the young is a potent enough recipe for debt accumulation without the help from study loans.

Take a look around. The world has many examples of successful people that do not have proper academic qualifications. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Michael Dell were all college dropouts. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook before he even graduated. Many a successful movie directors did not have college degrees but they all have one thing in common - they work in their area of interest. Their passion and interest drives them. More so than any college degree can.

How often have we faced lackadaisical general practice doctors in private clinics? How often have we encountered passionless lawyers battling stacks of documents in their office rather than battling it out in a court? Is that a life we want after paying so much for an education? Perhaps it's time for us to pay a little more attention to one's passion and interests rather than a blind pursuit for a degree in medicine or law or engineering or any other mainstream faculty.

Mind you, passionate sports personnels can earn much more than a disinterested doctor in a private clinic and they get to do what the like to do everyday? Isn't that a better deal?