25 years old and deep in debt

[The Brain]

It's WSJ. As a Murdoch rag it's about as credible as Pravda.

[crazy canuck]

It's WSJ. As a Murdoch rag it's about as credible as Pravda.

I suppose you believe in physics 

[CountDeMoney]

It's true. My rage boiled over and that was an unfortunate stab from me. I apologize.

[merithyn]

Just worked it out, and if I get into the program that I'm shooting for, I'll be ~$70k in debt at the end. That's not including the additional $1500 I'll need to take the professional exam at the end of it all.

[Ideologue]

IBR of zero and actuarially dead* before the tax bill.  Winner: Merithyn.

*Don't blame me.  Blame DGuller.

[Jacob]

Just worked it out, and if I get into the program that I'm shooting for, I'll be ~$70k in debt at the end. That's not including the additional $1500 I'll need to take the professional exam at the end of it all.

Do you need to take on that much debt now that Max has a solid job?

[DGuller]

IBR of zero and actuarially dead* before the tax bill.  Winner: Merithyn.

*Don't blame me.  Blame DGuller.

What did I do? 

[merithyn]

Just worked it out, and if I get into the program that I'm shooting for, I'll be ~$70k in debt at the end. That's not including the additional $1500 I'll need to take the professional exam at the end of it all.

Do you need to take on that much debt now that Max has a solid job?

Probably not. It'll probably be closer to $50k. The total bill will be $100k.

[Neil]

But once you complete it, won't you be unemployable?

[merithyn]

But once you complete it, won't you be unemployable?

My degree will be "useful", unlike a JD. I'm going for an MS in Project Management. 

Link
CIO — Project management may not be the most exciting job in IT these days, especially when most of the talk about hot IT jobs pertains to software developers, information security professionals and business intelligence analysts. Nevertheless, IT project management remains a stable, lucrative career with opportunities for growth, according to the latest salary survey from the Project Management Institute (PMI).

"We're seeing huge demand for IT project and program managers," says Mark Langley, president and CEO of PMI. "The data in the survey demonstrates that."

Indeed, the median base salary for an individual working in the field of project management in the U.S. is $105,000. Such a high median shows that companies are willing to pay top dollar for project management expertise.

Employers pay even higher salaries to project managers who hold the PMI's Project Management Professional (PMP) certification: Those who've held a PMP for five to less than 10 years earn a median base salary of $113,000, while those who've maintained a PMP for 10 to less than 20 years earn a median base salary of $120,000, according to the survey.

The degree comes with the necessary training to pass the PMP exam.

[Darth Wagtaros]

Ugh. Project Managers.

[DGuller]

How easy is it to break into the field?  A lot of fields are highly paid precisely because they have huge barriers to entry.

[merithyn]

How easy is it to break into the field?  A lot of fields are highly paid precisely because they have huge barriers to entry.

It depends on how you go about it. I'm working on my computer programming skills so that I can work in IT while I'm going to grad school. Good project managers aren't easy to find (especially when pulled out of IT), so I'm hoping that my years of experience as an event planner and freelance writer/editor will give me an edge.

The reality is that most people who know the work don't want to be project managers. They'd rather be programmers. Basically, the same pay with 1/10th the hassle. I enjoy programming (so far), but what I enjoy most about it is the organizing of tasks. Ergo....

[The Brain]

How easy is it to break into the field?  A lot of fields are highly paid precisely because they have huge barriers to entry.

I worked for years as a project manager in different companies. Hope that answers your question.

[The Brain]

It's WSJ. As a Murdoch rag it's about as credible as Pravda.

I suppose you believe in physics 

I believe in the power of love.