So you wanted to go to school, get a great education and land a high paying job that pays so well you can vacation all of the time and never work, right? Chances are you took out a student loan to help pay for that higher education, and now you're saddled with debt. But they call it good debt- pfft!

There is no such thing as good debt in relation to education, unless you're paying for medical school or an advanced degree from the school of hard knocks. For 95% of the college educated populace, loans serve several purposes, the least of which is a degree. One, college loans make it possible for university's to pay higher salaries to their employees, which has in indirect effect on educating you. At the larger schools, undergrads teach classes, while Dr's publish or perish. At smaller schools, they don't pay as well, but the administrators earn more money. Your school loan is helping to fund it.

Second, you are saddling yourself with long term debt- with an undetermined return on investment. School loans are very easy to borrow- perhaps the simplest forms you will ever encounter, and receiving the proceeds are even easier. Just drop by the financial aid office and collect a check. Imagine if you were take that same money and invest in a duplex, or small rental property, or in a blue chip stock. You can measure the return, and in most cases, make more money through investing than you could in a regular job. But that's risky-.

A higher education loan creates an intangible asset, an education with a diploma. Now most companies who request a degree will ask for a copy of your transcript or diploma. And numerous studies suggest that degreed students earn more money over the lifetime of their career. But what those studies do not take into account is the long term debt payment schedule. The salary of any degreed individual is automatically cut by $3000-$5000 per year for ten years. Sure, you can write off the interest, but that same debt load invested in business or real estate creates even more write off opportunities.

My suggesstion for people who do not want to go into a traditional career field, such as accounting, law, doctors, etc is to find an inexpensive on-line school, and educate yourself, just to secure a diploma. Pay for it in cash, and use the $300-$500 per month that you would have applied to a student loan to build a business (side-line or other.) Go to the local library and educate yourself, then, create your own network (class) of peers with a mentor (teacher) on any particular subject you choose.

Do not saddle yourself with an education loan. You might find it chafing after just a few short years, especially if you are like the majority of graduates and choose a career outside of your degree.