62strat said:

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TXTransplant said:

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Why would anyone (except for maybe an MD) be in grad school for all of their 20s?

I have a PhD. It took me 4 years…I was out before I turned 26. If grad school is taking much longer than that, there is a problem.

I was behind in my savings, not just because of grad school, but because I then took a job in higher ed, and also had a baby at 26. But while I didn't save as much (I did contribute to a 403b and a state retirement plan), I did minimize expenses.

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my wife was. She paid 100% of her undergrad and grad, so she had to work while attending. Why is that considered a problem?

Graduated at 29-30 years old.

I got my bs in engineering from a&m at 30 years old lol.
COME AT ME!

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not hedge said:

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Sorry guys you're behind if you don't graduate by the time you're 21 and have a full time job lined up while getting married and raising 3 kids by your 25th birthday and hitting 1M net worth with unlimited cash flow from your passive income /s

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94chem said:

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Dr. Doctor said:

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I am PhD CHEN. I did get paid for PhD, but I had to pay my way for my MSc.

Undergrad was 5 years for me. But I'm also a year older than everyone due to starting kindergarten a year later. I was 27 when I finished my degrees. Then i started to work at A&M as a lecturer. That was double grad life, but grad life was $24k.

But when I started making more, I had to start paying back loans. So wasn't until I started in a "real" engineering job that I made money that I could save.

And this is someone who has a paid off car, minimal car insurance and loved with a roomie behind Northgate.

But i knew a few grad students in different scenarios that had a wife and/or kids, getting paid $1000/month PRE tax or less, while dealing with life. I thought I was tight at $1200 a month, but foreign grads are heroes.

Hard to see them come out without being in debt (beyond school loans).

~egon

PS I was being a little cheeky, but I still think it's a serious concern.

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Yeah, if you go to graduate school with a stipend, it's good get get out at break even, but most people probably still have undergrad debt. If you go to professional school and have to borrow even more, holding out for a higher paying job is pretty important. Your 30's are kind of the new 20's.

When I got my job at 26 after grad school, it was kinda crappy that I had to start at 2 weeks vacation, even though I had 5 years of experience and 6 patents in my area of expertise. I couldn't even contribute to a 401(k) my first year. Meanwhile the BS engineers who had been there since they were 21 had 3 weeks of vacation and were over 6 figures in their retirement accounts.

In the end, I have no regrets because I've been well taken care of, and I've worked on really interesting things that I couldn't have done with only a BS.

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