When Debt Means Happiness: Avoiding Burnout
Moorea pointed out in a recent post on going to beauty school that a recession is the perfect time to take out a student loan. Still, it hurt when I signed that promissory note so that I could go to career school and become a massage therapist.
We have an entire course in massage school dedicated to self-care and professional development. The class’s goal is to teach us how to take care of ourselves so that we have long, happy careers, and avoid burnout. At the last class, our teacher told us that the average time for a massage therapist to work in that field is eight years. Injury, money issues, and emotional exhaustion can pile up for massage therapists and cause us to lose interest, burn out, and move on. Our teacher questioned aloud whether our significant investment (roughly $10k) was worth it for a career that only lasted such a short time.
I think this must be a generational thing. Our teacher is in her fifties; I just turned 30. My generation switches careers much more frequently than our predecessors, and most careers require specialized training, which means some investment. I refuse to consider myself a failure if I change careers again once, twice, or even more in the next thirty years.
My diligent, organized partner paid off her undergrad loans before she went to graduate school, but I was not that savvy. I’m still paying off my loans from college, to the tune of $280 a month. And somehow it still felt right for me to go further into debt to make a significant career change.
When I graduate from massage school and start paying off that debt, that’s when it’s really going to hurt. I’m not going to be able to rest on my laurels, as some have — one recent graduate took two months off after school to recuperate. That won’t be me. I’m going to have to get my license, find a job, and start making money right away.
Bu that’s okay. I entered into this new career to avoid burnout. And so I’m okay with those numbers. I’m happy now. I like my new career. And I think that’s worth a little debt.
What about you? What was your initial investment to go into your chosen career, and was it worth it?
My husband has almost got a PhD in philosophy. It’s a lot of debt, to be sure. But I’ve sat in on a few of his classes and he’s entirely in his element when he teaches. He also loved talking students and helping them figure things out.
Obviously, there’s a lot of debt to pay off too—but I think it may have been the right decision for him to be happy with his work for the rest of his life.
Plus, while philosophy doesn’t always pay well, it’s something that a lot of people do until they’re well into their 70s+. And it pays enough to live frugally.
I wonder about the question your teacher posed as well. I’m almost finished with a Master of Social Work and, entering a field that is not all about the big bucks, am hoping to find a job that is sustainable and where I make enough to pay off loans.
And, massage is something that helps people and makes them feel good. If you can be happy and also make others happy, you’re right…a little debt seems worth it! I felt the same way about my Life Coaching certification.
If you really think about it – how many people spends tens of thousands of dollars on a college degree and then never work in that field at all? That doesn’t make the education or experience any less valuable. I say – constant personal growth is the ticket…and doing so in a way that works financially and with career choices that change over time is one of the best job satisfaction strategies around.