PhD/PsyD Visit to our financial adviser

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erg923

Regional Clinical Officer, Centene Corporation
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This guy is the shiz-nit and a fudiciary whose interest are soley alignesd with our best interest. So, basically, what he says is scripture to us. My wife's very modest loans alone are aleady preventing us from paying off a car loan early and beating the interest rate AND in investing in some index funds (in addition to 401k) and a Roth IRA that can/will be used to fund my sons high school and college. This is just an FYI post for us on this board, as well as anyone thinking about forking over massive sums for a degree.

To paraphase him, when contemplating any educational endevaor, the decision is made if the education benefits you in some tangible (primarily monetary, but there are others) way after subtracting for the full cost. The personal glory of obtaining "insert degree here" fades rapidly compared to the debt load that can not be used to match 401K, pay off a car loans faster, put in a Roth, save for retirement. ALWAYS THINK ABOUT THE POWER OF COMPOUND INTEREST. IF YOU ARE USING IT TO PAY DEBTS, YOU ARE SHOOTING YOURSELF IN THE FOOT WITH EVERY PAYCHECK

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This is just an FYI post for us on this board, as well as anyone thinking about forking over massive sums for a degree.

But... sometimes you just have to go with your gut, you know? Like, I FEEL that Bob's House of Jungian Psychotherapy is the right program for me (and also for the 200 other people admitted this year). I'm not all driven by money and superficial like YOU, I do this for love. I'd live comfortably on $30,000 a year, and at that rate it would only take me 10 years to pay back my $300,000 in student debt. Man, I'd hate to be YOUR patient.
 
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I know, bunch of savages in this town....
 
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In addition to the Argosy's of the world, this post is also spurred by the internship interview thread on here, where applicants are spending several thousand dollars flying all over the damn country for a one year position that pays slightly over mimum wage. Pretty nuts if you think about it! Factor that cost in too, folks...
 
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But... sometimes you just have to go with your gut, you know? Like, I FEEL that Bob's House of Jungian Psychotherapy is the right program for me (and also for the 200 other people admitted this year). I'm not all driven by money and superficial like YOU, I do this for love. I'd live comfortably on $30,000 a year, and at that rate it would only take me 10 years to pay back my $300,000 in student debt. Man, I'd hate to be YOUR patient.

MCParent, you are forgetting about THE BEST part about Bob's House of Jungian Psychotherapy…it's online! I was told that if I work harder (but part-time) on my own self-study and if I really want this (because others can't want this as much as me) that I'll be fine! The training is just as good as those arcane and out-dated programs that require students to dedicate 5-6+ yrs of their lives to learning, so I don't know why people waste their time doing someone else's research. I won't have to waste my time on research…instead I can focus on what is important…learning how to help people!

Money isn't a concern for me because I know it will all work out. Thankfully I'll never have to leave California/NYC because that just isn't going to happen. I can just make my own internship and get licensed….somehow. There are plenty of people who have done this; my friend knows a guy who sees a psychologist who has this great office and they said that they make their own hours and it is great. I'm gonna do the same thing...I'll open up my own boutique practice and charge $200/session while guiding people to be the best person they can be! I did the math and 200 * 40hr wk = $8k/wk. Obviously there is overhead, but I'm not worried because I'll still make $200k/yr. If I don't make that much, it's okay…but money really isn't a concern for me, I mean…I'm doing this to help people. I don't understand why some people don't understand that.
 
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Absolutely correct. I did everything right... APA program and internship, picked an in demand area of psych to work in, and The positions I have been offered and accepted have above average pay. I also have a spouse with a six figure income. Looking at the future, we will be okay. We are hardly rolling in it, but we will be okay. This is the only way I can suggest taking part in this career. I have colleagues from PsyD programs that took out loans for tuition. They are making over $80k and struggling to make payments on a Hyundai and a 1 bdrm apt with loans. Think about that. As an aside , I need to find a good CPA that is a fiduciary.
 
T4C,
I neatly spit out my coffee! I know someone like this in the NYC area. This particular person balked at learning assessment/neuropsych on internship because she was only going to do psychodynamic/analytic therapy in NYC for private pay. A few years later I got an email advertising her newly opened private practice and...she is administering neuropsych assessments for a neuropsych to make money, lol.
 
Think about your financial age vs your chronological age/stage of life too. You should be doing different things with your money when you are 32 vs when you were 22.... and much of this is predicated on the assumption that you have more of it at 32 and have ALREADY done the things you should in that 10 year span.
 
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But guys, the admissions counselor at Bob's House of Jungian Therapy (BHJT) said that GradPlus loans aren't really that big of a deal, and that my loans can be forgiven after 15 years or so. This won't affect my credit too much, right?
 
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