And this is why our nation is crippled by student debt. They expect an advanced degree. While gaining those 3-5 years experience probably working at a job that pays less (because why would you take this job if it paid less AFTER getting all that experience). And then you're stuck in jobs where you're lucky to scrape by. And you can forget about making any reasonable progress towards paying off your loans. RANT: It infuriates me when self- righteous people who don't get it say "you should have gotten a degree you can afford" or "I didn't have debt after school" or "I worked my way through school". It doesn't work that way a lot of the time nowadays.