Usually people go to school to make themselves more marketable in the workforce. But now the crippling load of student loan debt may make it harder for recent grads to get employed. More below the flip.
Because credit score can be used to determine whether or not to hire a person, particularly in security-conscious positions and for those who are trying to become police officers or firefighters, the amount of student loan debt you are carrying could mean the difference between being hired and being passed over.
Is this unfair? Sure it is. This is the result of a financial perfect storm in the colleges and universities of America: the staggering inflation in college tuition, the coincidental decline in Pell Grants and other government subsidies for low-income students, and the rise in predatory student loans pushed by college and university financial aid departments who get SPIFs on loans from big financial companies like Sallie Mae and Citibank.
I have $45,000 in student loans. Will I be able to find a job, or will I be prevented from getting a job by my debt load? It really SHOULD be illegal for an employer to take your credit score into consideration when making a hiring decision. Then again, it really SHOULD be illegal to demand a urine sample from a new hire, and that's become part of what people expect when they get hired.
Unless you are a wealthy kid, going to school on Daddy's money, you are basically screwed. Welcome to the new debt peonage, folks.