Yes, I started out my career as a mechanic and even though I wasn't a money-maker like some guys I don't think I ever made under 40k a year doing it. I know guys I went to school who are making close to 100k a year doing it, far more than many degrees will get their holders.

I moved form there to a desk job so I could go back to school and study what I found myself to be passionate about. I had a plan and knew I could do nothing with a bachelor's in psychology. I don't think most of the kids I was in classes with understood that a Masters or PhD is needed in that field. Thank God most of them will never go on to such work anyways, there are enough bad counselors out there already!

Still, I could take on the debt (about 50k now) because I 1) could afford to pay it back with the means I already have to make a living in the auto industry and 2) already have a plan to pay it back and pursue my masters. I knew very few kids in the psych department that could make either of those claims.

The debt is worth if it if the person has a plan in place. I don;t think most kids do but then again look at their parents; many of their parents are the ones who got crushed by this economic downturn because they spent too much, lived above their means, and didn't plan for down times. Like father, like son.