Living in a Converted Garage With a Master's Degree

Something needs to change and it needs to change now. Too many people are affected by this for it not to be something that everyone is aware of.
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yea.... get a new career that pays more. teaching job is no longer a viable option. sad I know but it's the fact of life for now. I don't know how or why did we come to this point but it's truly sad that teaching jobs are not even mildly financially incentive. several of my friends have already quitted or will quit teaching jobs.

teachers with impressive backgrounds are actually revered in Korea and they get paid very well.
 
Jiro said:
yea.... get a new career that pays more. teaching job is no longer a viable option. sad I know but it's the fact of life for now. I don't know how or why did we come to this point but it's truly sad that teaching jobs are not even mildly financially incentive. several of my friends have already quitted or will quit teaching jobs.

teachers with impressive backgrounds are actually revered in Korea and they get paid very well.
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Yes, I remember about Shel have a teaching job so she was struggling with life, even with master degree.

That why I lost the interest in teaching, so I took IT over teaching.
 
what I would perhaps suggest for people who really wanna pursue teaching... they should take up jobs that pay more... suck it up with it for some years until all debts are paid off.... and then once you're financially comfortable - quit and then take up a teaching job.

that's what I want to do. I will quit at some point in life later on to become a teacher
 
Still looking for that better paying job. If I was single, I would be in the same shoes as this guy except for the getting laid off.

At least my student loans are on a fixed rate.
 
Wait a minute.

This guy's undergrad degree was in economics, yet he said he didn't understand his student loan because no one explained it to him?

Also, he was crying because he couldn't buy a house right away. Why does a single guy right out of school need a house? Especially since he keeps moving around from job to job. He's not even settled down yet.

He's also supposing that he can't get a job with a private or charter school because he previously worked in unionized public schools. Mind you, he wasn't actually turned down by any; he just assumes that would happen.

He pays $900/month for an unheated 500-sq.ft. garage apartment? He's living in an expensive area. That $900 here would be at least a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a garage, with central heat and air.

Also, for someone who has a degree in economics, he doesn't seem to know much about it.

I would take this story with a grain of salt.
 
i dont know the system in States but in uk you pay student loan when you earning a wage that can sustain the repayments but i not 100% sure...my son paying his loan off, he doctor and can afford it
 
Reba said:
Wait a minute.

This guy's undergrad degree was in economics, yet he said he didn't understand his student loan because no one explained it to him?

Also, he was crying because he couldn't buy a house right away. Why does a single guy right out of school need a house? Especially since he keeps moving around from job to job. He's not even settled down yet.

He's also supposing that he can't get a job with a private or charter school because he previously worked in unionized public schools. Mind you, he wasn't actually turned down by any; he just assumes that would happen.

He pays $900/month for an unheated 500-sq.ft. garage apartment? He's living in an expensive area. That $900 here would be at least a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a garage, with central heat and air.

Also, for someone who has a degree in economics, he doesn't seem to know much about it.

I would take this story with a grain of salt.
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The guy could be trying to play on the public sympathy and hoping someone will give him his dream job and nice house to live. You see people down on their luck getting help from caring people all the time , the guy could be banking on becoming 'King' for Day.
 
Reba said:
Wait a minute.

This guy's undergrad degree was in economics, yet he said he didn't understand his student loan because no one explained it to him?
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Some portion of his statement is confusing - he could say that school didn't clarify or explain about student loan. :dunno:

Also, he was crying because he couldn't buy a house right away. Why does a single guy right out of school need a house? Especially since he keeps moving around from job to job. He's not even settled down yet.
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Yes, I think that he made a bad decision. I know some people bought a house straight out of college after secure the stable job, but not everyone is in their same shoe. The small garden house or townhouse is suitable for single, but if they can keep a job for long time without layoff or resign. My friend is single and he lives in a house with 10 acre in rural area.

He's also supposing that he can't get a job with a private or charter school because he previously worked in unionized public schools. Mind you, he wasn't actually turned down by any; he just assumes that would happen.
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Yes, I don't understand why he can't get hired at charter school or private school. I think he is perfect candidate to teach at university if he made a excellent performance on teacher evaluation and I noticed that he received nomination for best teacher, so college kids will love him so much and make a popular professor.

He pays $900/month for an unheated 500-sq.ft. garage apartment? He's living in an expensive area. That $900 here would be at least a three-bedroom, two-bath house with a garage, with central heat and air.
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It sounds like he is living in Malibu, Santa Cruz, Beverly Hills or coastal cities. Yes, the coastal cities in California are expensive and I met some Californians, some of them don't want move to east coast because it is unsuitable for them due to cultural difference or they have many families in western states.

Just curious, $900 per month for 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house is in good area or bad area? I noticed that most 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom houses are usually $1,500 to $2,000 in my area, with good school district and low crime, but I don't know about average monthly for older houses because most older houses are in undesirable area with bad school and racially segregated. :(

I was robbed twice in DC area (bad trauma) and I don't want live in bad area. I rather to live in rural area over bad area in urban.

Also, for someone who has a degree in economics, he doesn't seem to know much about it.

I would take this story with a grain of salt.
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I think that degree in economic may useful for economic professor or become an economic advisor or work as economic writer for media industries. :lol:

I found his story is sad because he doesn't make a best decision, but his situation is not unique because there are many people with master degree, especially in teaching position are struggling with their life and Jiro said that teaching position is not viable.
 
I think the moral of the story is that teachers aren't earning enough to be able to support themselves. If I was single, there would be no way I could afford an apt on my own unless I live 50 miles away from my job because this area is so expensive and having no raise for 6 years really hurted me as my bring home pay got smaller each year due to taxes going up.
 
So many students are clueless about money. The only good thing that came of my learning disability was because I couldn't pass the entrance exam, I was not eligible for a school loan. I paid for each class out of pocket so the good thing was, I owed no one but my parents for the help they gave me. I had wanted to go into teaching myself but they were only able to offer me $35K for part-time. After looking unsuccessfully for full-time work teaching for a year, I decided it was no longer worth it. I think if more students approached school with having to pay for it themselves, people would make better choices.


Laura
 
Foxrac said:
. . . Just curious, $900 per month for 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house is in good area or bad area? ...
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Nice area, good school district.

Houses like mine, (2,200 sq.ft., central heat/air, 4-bdrm, 2 ½ bath, 2-car garage, nice neighborhood, good district) is maybe $1,200/month. A single guy starting out in life wouldn't need that much.
 
My niece (in her 20's) is a high school math teacher in Colorado (moved there from Michigan). She's been a teacher for a couple years. She is working on her master's degree while working, paying as she goes rather than getting a loan. She and a roommate share a nice apartment, and each have a car. Her budget is tight but she isn't living in poverty.

She also leaves open options for working in banking, accounting, and tax preparation. She stays flexible for job opportunities.
 
Lau2046 said:
So many students are clueless about money. The only good thing that came of my learning disability was because I couldn't pass the entrance exam, I was not eligible for a school loan. I paid for each class out of pocket so the good thing was, I owed no one but my parents for the help they gave me. I had wanted to go into teaching myself but they were only able to offer me $35K for part-time. After looking unsuccessfully for full-time work teaching for a year, I decided it was no longer worth it. I think if more students approached school with having to pay for it themselves, people would make better choices.

Laura
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Oh wow, I'm sorry to hear about you had a hard time with entrance exam, but good thing about you got around to finish the class without receiving a student loan.

There are many deaf people are struggling with exams because English wasn't their first language due to no phonics, but deaf people who grew with oral may have a better fare.
 
Reba said:
Nice area, good school district.

Houses like mine, (2,200 sq.ft., central heat/air, 4-bdrm, 2 ½ bath, 2-car garage, nice neighborhood, good district) is maybe $1,200/month. A single guy starting out in life wouldn't need that much.
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Oh wow, that's less expensive, it probably make sense for Mobile or Huntsville, but in Birmingham metro, it is expensive if you want good school district and low crime, but it is nowhere to be closer as NY and CA.
 
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