I killed my teenager’s fancy college dreams
And here we have once again why the government shouldn&#x27;t be subsidizing student loans and shouldn&#x27;t exclude them from bankruptcy. We need to quit incentivizing sub-prime loans. Unlike the housing crash where the houses retained most of their value and could be sold later, you can&#x27;t sell your degree to pay back the money.<p>If you&#x27;re getting a necessary degree, it&#x27;s very uncommon to default on your loan because you&#x27;ll be in demand and getting a decent wage. Banks understand this fact and will do the math to give a loan anyway.<p>Some of my kids seem like they enjoy academics, but others do not. I&#x27;ll be pushing the latter toward trade school. Average IBEW (electrical union) pay is about $20&#x2F;hr for an apprentice and $33 for a journeyman. $40,000 to $66,000  with ZERO DEBT right out the gate is nothing to ignore (and that pay can easily double -- especially in your younger years -- if you&#x27;re willing to travel and put in those extra hours). It sure beats minimum wage at a crappy service job.