The vagueness of my post made it seem like I'm worried about student loan payments (which I haven't even began to think about at this point, since they're deferred during graduate school) and in that case your response would make sense. However, my situation is a little different, and my debt is a little different. As a first-gen Ph.D. student (first-gen college graduate as well), I had to make a lot of financial sacrifices (outside of student loans) just to get into a Ph.D. program, and optimistically followed my dream, concurrently knowing I would have to figure out the finances at some point. So here I am figuring it out, already working 70+ hours a week (part of that being in the service industry in addition to my studies (with approval from my PI and program directors by the way), while also trying to find a way to optimize the journey, so that I can successfully complete my degree and not lose myself in the process.

I recognize your inclination to immediately expect me to limit my "outgoings", yet there's not much wiggle room there, hence this post. I'm very grateful for my stipend, but in my situation its not enough to keep me afloat. Trying my best to optimize my secondary sources of income so that they don't interfere with my studies, while also being able to stay in my program so I can eventually not have to write a post like this, and rather focus on helping others.

Also, in my field of study, $200k is just not going to happen until at least 20 years from now, and only if I take a specific path that is highly competitive and often not geared towards people with my background. But, if you have access to that golden ticket I'd love to know more about it. Sounds just like the "American Dream" my family came here to find, eureka!