Student Loans: A Necessary Evil or Just Evil….

In this day and age, we are being told to hold on to our monetary resources as much as possible. Don’t leave your jobs, don’t make any crazy purchases, and don’t spend any money whatsoever. It’s an odd thing, considering the insane buyer’s market we find ourselves in! So, do we take out that $200,000 dollar loan and buy a house because that house could potentially triple in value over the next 10 years? It is a considerable gamble, isn’t it? Making a huge investment, and not knowing for sure that it will pay off for you. The housing market is so fickle. It bends and breaks, then gets rebuilt again. Who knows what can happen. Will it get even worse before it gets better? Who knows! It’s possible your $200,000 dollar investment does pay off big time, and it’s also possible you buy the house and watch the value plummet even further. We can never say for sure. It is indeed a very dangerous and risky game. Does that mean you don’t play it?
To answer that question, I will pose another question: Since it is very possible you could end up broken hearted, do you take the risk of falling in love? There are many factors to consider, right? What if she cheats? What if she leaves me for another man? What if she is a serial killer who only kills serial killers? What if it just doesn’t work out and you end up a broken mess? It can turn out very badly for you! So, is it worth the risk? YES! When it’s bad, it’s bad...but when it’s right and it is real, it is the greatest thing humanly possible. Just about anything in this world that is worth having will require a risk. It has to be worth fighting for in order to be worth having. The same can be said of a house.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to be irresponsible and purchase a home when you know your job isn’t stable. Just as with love, be responsible and be sure you are making the right choice. Don’t marry someone you can’t stand, or that you know isn’t right for you! Be responsible with your investments, whether it be love, a car, a boat, or a house. Make sure your investment pays off as well. If you buy a boat, use it! If you buy a house, take care of it, and update it so that the value will remain high.
What does any of this have to do with student loans? Well, I think you may have already guessed. Let’s go over a few things before I really delve into it. In this age, it is extremely rare to find a student who doesn’t need student loans. I’m not talking about your private college and university students either. I’m talking about your average FIU or FSU student! Consider that every year, FIU’s tuition goes up. Also consider that the family income level for Pell Grant recipients is not based on a state per state or a family per family basis. It’s a general figure for all states. So, if it’s $15,000 per household member, and you live in New York City, chances are you won’t get much in the way of federal grants. The days of fully covered college are all but gone. Next year, my wife will not qualify for Pell Grants because we make too much for our two person household. That means she will have to finish her last semester at FIU with a student loan. She also had to take out loans at Miami Dade College when she was an out of state student. Many factors will impact your aid, and your needs for student loans.

All that being said, let’s get right down to dispelling the old time notion that student loans are evil. At this point, they are a necessary evil for most students. Obviously, if you don’t need them, you shouldn’t take them. That would go against the whole “be responsible” thing I mentioned earlier. If you can afford to fund your college education through grants and scholarships, then that is great for you, and you should take advantage of that. If you don’t qualify for grants, or scholarships, does that mean you should forget about college and just try to get by for the rest of your life with bottom of the barrel jobs? By no means! If there is one risk, one investment you absolutely have to pursue in our world today, it’s that of a college education. Believe me, without it you will not reach your maximum potential in life. It will be very difficult to make a career for yourself. Forget about a job. A job is a place you go to get paid. Most people hate their “jobs”. You need to find a career; a position and a field that gets you excited and will allow you to wake up in the morning and be happy about what you are going to be doing for the next 8-9 hours.
Again, I have to stress the whole responsibility thing here. Be wise, and very careful as you select a major. Unless you are 100% planning on attending graduate school, find a major and a career field that you will not only enjoy, but that will provide you with opportunities and monetary success. No one wants to shell out $30,000 in student debt to be making $8.50 per hour. Pick the right career for you! Do some research, be informed, be prepared to work hard, and try as hard as possible to be certain you are entering the right field.
Finally, back to the subject of the loan….Student loans are not the same as auto, or home loans. If you fail to pay your home loan, they take the house away from you. The same is true of an auto loan, a motorcycle, or a boat. It’s not the same with a student loan. Why? Well, with a student loan, the bank can’t get anything in return for it. If you don’t pay that home loan, and they take it away from you, they can just sell it to someone else and at least recover some of the value. It’s not so with a student loan. They can’t take your Bachelor’s degree away from you and sell it to the highest bidder. You earned it, that title and degree belongs to you, regardless of who financed it. For this reason, lenders are very flexible and willing to work with you on payment schedules and deferment. Of course, you have to have good reason to have your loans deferred, such as loss of employment, low income, or continued education. They work with you, because it’s better to get paid less over a longer period, then to get nothing at all. You really have to work hard and avoid every possible avenue of communication in order to fall into default!
If getting student loans is the make or break decision for you in regards to a college education, take that risk, make that investment! Without a college education, chances are you will be stuck in dead end situation after dead end situation! Don’t limit yourself and your potential! As John Connor once said, “The future's not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves.”

Accouting: A Smart Choice?

Heck yes it is!

Employment of accountants and auditors is expected to grow faster than average for all occupations through the year 2014. An increase in the number of businesses, changing financial laws and regulations, and increased scrutiny of company finances will drive growth. In addition to openings resulting from growth, the need to replace accountants and auditors who retire or transfer to other occupations will produce numerous job openings in this large occupation.

As the economy grows, the number of business establishments will increase, requiring more accountants and auditors to set up books, prepare taxes, and provide management advice. As these businesses grow, the volume and complexity of information developed by accountants and auditors regarding costs, expenditures, and taxes will increase as well. An increased need for accountants and auditors will arise from changes in legislation related to taxes, financial reporting standards, business investments, mergers, and other financial events. The growth of international business also has led to more demand for accounting expertise and services related to international trade and accounting rules, as well as to international mergers and acquisitions. These trends should create more jobs for accountants and auditors.

As a result of accounting scandals at several large corporate companies, Congress passed legislation in an effort to curb corporate accounting fraud. This legislation requires public companies to maintain well-functioning internal controls to ensure the accuracy and reliability of their financial reporting. It also holds the company’s chief executive personally responsible for falsely reporting financial information.

These changes should lead to increased scrutiny of company finances and accounting procedures and should create opportunities for accountants and auditors, particularly CPAs, to audit financial records more thoroughly. In order to ensure that finances comply with the law before public accountants conduct audits, management accountants and internal auditors increasingly will be needed to discover and eliminate fraud. Also, in an effort to make government agencies more efficient and accountable, demand for government accountants should increase.

Increased awareness of financial crimes such as embezzlement, bribery, and securities fraud will increase the demand for forensic accountants, to detect illegal financial activity by individuals, companies, and organized crime rings. Computer technology has made these crimes easier to commit, and they are on the rise. At the same time, the development of new computer software and electronic surveillance technology has made tracking down financial criminals easier, thus increasing the ease with which, and likelihood that, forensic accountants will discover their crimes. As success rates of investigations grow, demand also will grow for forensic accountants.

The changing role of accountants and auditors also will spur job growth, although this growth will be limited as a result of financial scandals. In response to demand, some accountants were offering more financial management and consulting services as they assumed a greater advisory role and developed more sophisticated accounting systems. Because Federal legislation now prohibits accountants from providing nontraditional services to clients whose books they audit, opportunities for accountants to offer such services could be limited. However, accountants will still be able to advise on other financial matters for clients that are not publicly traded companies and for nonaudit clients, but growth in these areas will be slower than in the past. Also, due to the increasing popularity of tax preparation firms and computer software, accountants will shift away from tax preparation. As computer programs continue to simplify some accounting-related tasks, clerical staff will increasingly handle many routine calculations.

Overall, job opportunities for accountants and auditors should be favorable. After most States instituted the 150-hour rule for CPAs, enrollment in accounting programs declined; however, enrollment is slowly beginning to grow again as more students become attracted to the profession because of the attention from the accounting scandals. Those who earn a CPA should have excellent job prospects. However, many accounting graduates are instead pursuing other certifications, such as the CMA and CIA, so job prospects may not be as favorable in management accounting and internal auditing as in public accounting. Regardless of specialty, accountants and auditors who have earned professional recognition through certification or licensure should have the best job prospects. Applicants with a master’s degree in accounting, or a master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in accounting, also will have an advantage. In the aftermath of the accounting scandals, professional certification is even more important in order to ensure that accountants’ credentials and ethics are sound.

Proficiency in accounting and auditing computer software, or expertise in specialized areas such as international business, specific industries, or current legislation, may be helpful in landing certain accounting and auditing jobs. In addition, employers increasingly are seeking applicants with strong interpersonal and communication skills. Because many accountants work on teams with others from different backgrounds, they must be able to communicate accounting and financial information clearly and concisely. Regardless of one’s qualifications, however, competition will remain keen for the most prestigious jobs in major accounting and business firms.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook