Reddit mentions of Going Broke by Degree: Why College Costs Too Much

And, of course, college tuitions are high in the first place because they are [inflated by government guaranteed student loans] (http://www.amazon.com/Going-Broke-Degree-College-Costs/dp/0844741973)

I know exactly how you feel. I'm nearly halfway done with the DC program and frequently wonder whether it would be smarter to just quit. Evaluating all your options is never a bad idea. I used to assume that a mountain of debt was the normal way of life, until I heard about "Going Broke by Degree" (http://www.amazon.com/Going-Broke-Degree-College-Costs/dp/0844741973).

As others have said, there are a fair number of doctors who are very successful and make $200k, $300k, even half a million a year. Dr. Lona Cook wrote a book about how she paid off all of her student loans ($180k) in exactly 2 years after graduating. (Just Tell Me Where to Start: http://www.drlonacook.com/just-tell-me-where-to-start.html) I'll be interviewing her on my podcast in the next few weeks to learn more.

A cursory glance at these successful doctors leads me to a less favorable opinion, though. They seem to have subluxation-based, high volume practices, which is not very congruent with my preferred approach. I can't envision spending less than 15-30 minutes with a patient, which makes me wonder how I could ever make the kind of money they do. As jeep_thangs said, financial success is more about being business savvy than the profession you choose.

That said, don't rule out Athletic Training, or even PT yet. (You can take some time to meet the requirements or find another school.) The great thing about chiropractic, though, is the wide range of possibilities in how you practice, what you specialize in, and being able to work for yourself and be considered a primary care physician.

College is a waste of time for many or most students and a massive reform is long overdue.

We're facing a looming student loan bubble to rival the housing bubble. Just like the housing bubble (promoted on the idea that everyone deserves a home and should use their welfare checks to qualify for a mortgage -- thanks for nothing Dodd and Frank!), the college bubble is predicated on the idea that everyone needs to go to college to earn a bachelor's degree, and that the government needs to pay for it by subsidizing the loans and removing the risks that normally cause lenders to be cautious.

It's a recipe for disaster. England is facing a similar crisis, because back in the 1990s Blair et al. arbitrarily decided that 50% of their population needed college degrees. Now, England, like America, is swamped with people who believe they're special and intelligent because they have a college diploma, and who refuse to work at entry-level jobs they consider demeaning, when they're actually not that bright and were the beneficiaries of grade inflation and lowered standards.

In the meantime, America is dreadfully short of high-paying jobs like certified welders, because a generation of students have been brainwashed to believe that trades and tech education is for losers. They'd rather get a college degree and work as a cashier for $8/hr (with student loan repayments) than go to 6-12 months of welding training, often on the employer's dime, and earn $20 per hour in a high-demand job.

http://www.amazon.com/Real-Education-Bringing-Americas-Schools/dp/0307405389

http://www.amazon.com/Going-Broke-Degree-College-Costs/dp/0844741973