Americans today owe a whopping $1.78 trillion in student loans. And the average borrower is on the hook for a $337 monthly payment.
A big reason for this is that the cost of college has risen exponentially throughout the years, to the point where many students have no choice but to take out loans to cover that expense. Even those who opt for public, in-state schools may be looking at mountains of debt by the time college is over.
You'll often hear that a college degree is your ticket to a successful career. But investing legend Warren Buffett isn't quite convinced. In fact, Buffett would probably be the first person to tell you not to rack up an enormous amount of student loan debt in the course of getting a degree and consider seriously whether a degree is even worth it in the first place.
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There are other paths to success
Warren Buffett attended college when he was younger, but to this day, he's not so convinced that he benefited all that much. Given the cost of tuition today, students should think about what they'll really get out of a degree before forking over all of that money and signing themselves up for massive piles of student loans.
"I don't think college is for everyone," Buffett told students of Ivey Business School at Western University in 2012, noting that none of his three children graduated from college. "The best education you can get is investing in yourself. But this doesn't always mean college or university."
Buffett also insists that when it comes to hiring people to work for him, a fancy college degree is by no means the deciding factor. "I don't care where someone went to school, and that never caused me to hire anyone or buy a business," Buffett said in a 2006 interview with the Wall Street Journal.
Meanwhile, in a Yahoo! Finance interview, when asked what he thought of college, Buffett's response was, "It's just expensive." And when asked whether college is worth it, he said, "It depends on the individual."
If there's an area of study you're passionate about, then it could make sense to sign up for a specialized program, even if it costs more. But if you're not quite sure what you want to study in college and what sort of career path that might lead to, then you may want to stick to schools that are less expensive so that you don't wind up saddled with debt after the fact.
Also, don't assume that college is your only option. You may have a business idea you're passionate about, and if you've thought it through, you may want to run with it. If you're worried that not going to college will mean setting yourself up for failure, rest assured that Buffett, one of the most successful investors of our time, feels differently.
Buffett insists that for some people, a college degree just doesn't pay. And that's advice worth taking to heart before you commit to thousands of dollars in student loans.
