It’s the fear of every single college student, especially when they follow the news: they’ll graduate into a terrible job market freighted under an enormous load of student debt, and be stuck working at a fast food joint for the rest of their lives, unable to pay off their loans.
It made us wonder: what if you got stuck in an entry level job, and had only that income to pay off your private student loan? Could you do it? How long would it take?
We looked at the average salaries of ten common entry-level jobs: cashier, bagger, sales staff for a retail store, telemarketer, call center representative, data entry clerk, receptionist, administrative assistant, and mailroom employee – in addition to the traditional, minimum-wage position. Next we pulled the average public and private debt of a four-year university graduate, and averaged out the cost of living. We assumed you’d put every spare nickel you had toward your loans.
The good news is: most jobs will let you pay off your loans, even the miserable ones. The bad news? You might be in your thirties before it actually happens.
The Best Entry-Level Jobs
Unsurprisingly, the highest paying entry-level jobs take place at a desk of some sort.
- Administrative Assistant: The best and quickest way to get your student loans paid off? Be an administrative assistant. Yes, a secretary, but no, it’s not a job limited to women who went to secretarial school; in fact, they’re looking for college graduates. With an average salary of $35,925, you can get your loans paid in less than two years, even if you went to a pricier private school.
- Receptionist: Sure, being a receptionist is a bit like working retail: dealing with surly obnoxious people, fielding phone calls from idiots, dealing with angry people at your desk. But, you’ll be paid off only a few months after that administrative assistant with an average salary of $31,357.
These have the added advantage, and important consideration, of not being dead-end jobs: you can get promoted out of these roles and into something a bit more interesting and lucrative. But even if you don’t, you’ll at least have less debt to worry about.
Answer the Call: Telemarketing Pays
So you can’t get an office job, per se, but as you browse the want ads, and a job keeps coming up, a job that everyone dreads. Yet it’s a job that most of us wind up doing at some point in our lives: dealing with strangers on the phone.
- Customer Service Representative: That’s the person at the call center receiving calls from people frustrated with various products and services. If you can put up with the hostility of random strangers for a little more than two years (three if you went to a private school), you’ll get your loans paid off on your average salary of $28,677. It is worth noting that call center reps can, at some companies, get promoted and do something else, so if you want to get your foot in the door at a company, working their call center might not be a bad idea.
- Telemarketer: This is less so when you work on sales calls. But, being a telemarketer, while it may make you hated, it will at least pay off your bills if you can stand it … for up to four years. However, part of that average salary of $27,532 may, unfortunately, include sales commissions, so be ready to walk away if they expect you to sell something that you don’t want to.
Typing and Delivering: Valuable Corporate Skills
Maybe you don’t enjoy getting screamed at by total strangers looking for an emotional pinata, and we can’t really blame you for that. Fortunately, if you want an office job, there are other options.
- Mailroom Clerk: There are several billionaires who started in the humble mailroom of their companies, and pushing, sorting, and delivering mail is at least a job that gets you up and around, and lets you get to know the company. The average salary of $25,137 means you won’t get your loans paid off for up to five years, but at least you’ll be meeting people, and giving them something they want.
- Data Entry Clerk: If you’ve got a fast typing speed, you might want to consider another avenue: data entry clerk. Sure, it’s boring and repetitive, but not only can you get promoted out to an administrative assistant job if you type fast enough, the $25,739 average salary means that while it’ll take you almost as long as the mail clerk, you’ll have to prove a bit less. Fair warning, though … wrist pain is pretty common for this profession.
When All Else Fails, Go To The Mall
Maybe working in an office isn’t for you at all, or maybe there just aren’t any opportunities for you to work in a cubicle. Fortunately, there are plenty of opportunities at the mall … provided you’re willing to hang on for a while.
- Retail Sales Representative: Sales staff, making $23,225 annually, have the best of the mall jobs. Sure, they’ll get their loans paid in between 6 and 8 years, but at least they’ll be out of the mall before they’re 30.
- Cashiers: These folks aren’t quite so lucky: at $21,768 a year, they’ll be lucky to get them paid off on the fifteen year plan.
Still, believe it or not, there are worse jobs.
These Jobs Should Be Bagged
- Grocery Bagger: If you’re working as a grocery bagger, who at least get a $19,829 annual salary, forget it: you will never be able to pay off your loans. The only thing worse?
- Working at McDonald’s: Or any other minimum wage job. You’ll be making an average of $15,080 (if you’re lucky), and get stuck paying the interest on your loan.
In short, while entry level jobs can be low-paying and repetitive, they will at least allow you to get out from under your student loans, and on the road to financial freedom. Just be sure to shoot higher than McDonald’s.
