Is it realistic for me to expect that I can pay off my student loans with a lab tech job? I’ll have my BS in biology soon, and I’m looking at lab tech jobs. These seem like they’re just about the only thing I’ll be specifically qualified for other than being a product rep, which is undesirable for other regions (e.g. 50% overnight travel).
Most of the jobs I’ve applied for pay new hires around $10-13/hour. My student loan payments will be $530/month; tight, but doable, though probably not enough to save very much. If I switch to a graduated repayment schedule, my initial payments will be closer to $350/month, but would go up to–well, I’m not sure, but no more than 3X the initial payment–$700-800/month, let’s say.
So, the question: will my income after working as a lab tech for six to eight years be high enough to make those payments? Is there a career there, or are these jobs more of a layover for people planning to move on to graduate or medical school (which I am not going to do)?
Things to consider: I’m not considering the income-contingent plans, because the idea of paying $100,000 to discharge a $40,000 debt offends me, and I’m not wild about planning to make payments for basically my entire working life (I’m over thirty). I would probably be a lousy teacher.