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June 02, 2012

waitressing and student debt

Abby incurred a huge debt studying archeology, and because she knew there was little chance she would ever be employed as an archeologist she took a job as a waitress –deliberately working enough hours to pay her day-to-day bills but not enough hours to pay off her student debt, knowing full well that her first job as a waitress is unlikely to lead to anything better.

“I know so many highly educated people doing menial work like me or tramping the streets looking for work that I've come to the conclusion that education no longer carries the prestige it once endowed upon those who gained it," says Abby. "Education is still a wonderful asset for personal growth, but it's no longer a key to a good job and a good future and this situation is being exacerbated by the government pushing too many unemployed people and single moms into courses and getting them into debt."

"Don't get me wrong," adds Abby, "education is a great thing -- worth paying for -- and I believe that people should take full advantage of any scheme that's going because once they get a dead-end job like I have their opportunities for time off for study are going to be zilch."

“I know many people who have quit menial jobs in order to gain the time necessary to pursue a study course, hoping it will lead to something better,” says Abby, “but it never does. I was very fortunate to have been on welfare when I studied - no money worries and plenty of time to study something I enjoyed.”

"I knew, of course, that government sponsored education schemes are not free,” says Abby. “Welfare recipients incur huge debts from these schemes, and when they do get a job -- often a menial job, not at all commensurate with their educational qualifications -- they often find themselves paying off the government sponsored course for the rest of their lives."

“I hate being a waitress, it’s a lousy first job, but I can choose the hours I work and by earning the bare minimum amount of money I need to live on I don’t have to repay my debt.”

Read more by Abby on this issue:


  • student debt
  • welfare student scam



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