Six Strategies to Sack Student Loans
Student loans suck. I get it.
However, student loans are inevitable unless either you or your family are fortunate enough to pay for graduate school (in this case pharmacy school) on your own dime. For most Americans in this day and age, student loans are a necessity to paying for the exorbitant tuition that result in an education that aims to provide you a piece of paper allowing you to add more letters after your name. Why tuition in general is extremely expensive is a different topic in itself.
Here are six strategies you can consider to tackling student loan debt that do not involve working more than one job.
1. Consider the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program
“If you are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local, or tribal government or not-for-profit organization, you might be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.” — PSLF Website
If you were not aware, Pharmacists do not have to work in grocery pharmacies or private medical centers like Kaiser Permanente. There are opportunities to work as a practicing Pharmacist in the federal government such as the Navy, Army, Air Force, Bureau of Prisons, and more. You can even work in the state or local government. If a Pharmacist chooses to work in any of these institutions, then you may qualify for your student loans to be forgiven after a 10-year period where you have not missed a payment.
As a Pharmacist, this should be an option you consider early on in your career. Not only will you not have to be too concerned about the burden of student loans, but you will also get valuable training in institutions where you can learn and set yourself up for the future.
Note: the federal government can cancel the PSLF program in the future, but as of right now the program remains fair game! I will leave talking more about the PSLF program for another time for another post.
2. Live like a pauper during graduate school and live like a student at least 5 years after you graduate.
During pharmacy/graduate school, try not to blow your student loans on useless expenses and use only what is necessary to fund your education and any related living expenses. I admit that I did not do this well, but I was not financially literate at the time. I have learned from my past choices, and I hope you can learn from my experiences to save you future stress. Additionally, delaying gratification and living like a student at least 5 years after pharmacy school will also help you with paying down student loan debt, improving your net worth, and setting you up for success. However, everyone has a different situation after they graduate (ex. completing a fellowship, residency, etc.), so keep that in mind when determining your student loan pay down strategy.
3. Live and work in an area that has a low cost of living.
Pharmacists get paid well, but they get paid even better in areas/states where no one wants to work in (i.e. underserved). ‘Underserved’ areas/states may also have a low cost of living. Combine all these with a state that has low or no state income tax and you have a recipe for student loan pay down bonanza.
4. Speculate in the stock market.
Yes, I said it. I do not recommend this for everyone, but it could pay off to speculate in the stock market if you are ‘young’ by placing small bits of money you are able to save into companies that may provide you multiples in returns. When I graduated from pharmacy school, I was not making much at my entry role in regulatory affairs. However, I used every little bit I saved to speculate and/or invest on small biotechnology and small pharmaceutical companies. Using the knowledge gained from my pharmacy school training and a little of my own self-study on financial topics, the money used in speculating (and investing for the long term) turned out to be a greater return on investment then just paying down my student loans. Again, I do not recommend this method for everyone, but it was a method that has helped me grow my net worth and put me in an advantageous position to pay down my student loans.
5. Stay hungry in your career and pursue opportunities for growth and promotions.
If you stay stagnant in life you go no where and this holds true to your ‘work life’. If you choose ‘mediocracy’ in your career (assuming you are not considering the PSLF program) and not seek out promotions, raises, or new opportunities that increase your earning potential, then you frankly are screwing yourself. Please do not settle. Otherwise, then you are selling yourself short and making it harder for you to pay off student loans and get ahead in life.
6. Get a job in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry, specifically in a small to mid-size company.
Let me set the record straight. Working in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry is nothing like working in tech or finance (Pharmacists can work in these industries by the way). However, the financial rewards (and arguably career satisfaction) of working in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry start to overshadow careers in practicing pharmacy over time. As long as you keep climbing the yucky corporate ladder, expect larger raises in your salary and overall compensation packages when compared to what you would get working as a traditional Pharmacist. Rewards tend to be even greater in smaller companies companies as employers need to compensate employees for the risk that is involved (ex. company failing). Packages in smaller companies can be more attractive compared to larger companies as they can include competitive bonuses, shares in said company, and sometimes option packages (these will be discussed in a future post).
Conclusion
This is not an exhaustive list of strategies to pay off student loans, and there a number of free resources available online to help you. I just hope the next time you ask yourself ‘how am I going to pay off these student loans?’, then you refer to this blog for some guidance (hahaha).
Author’s Note
Student loans suck, but try should not fixate on them in isolation. Instead, fixate on your improving your net worth. After all, your student loans were an investment you chose to make for yourself. You are worth it.
