Monday, April 16, 2012

$170,000 for a Bachelors in Photography

Whew! Dodged a HAYOOOOOOGE bullet there!

My favorite is how the liberal arts major will typically marry an engineer, spend the majority of the money, and have the gall to claim they're an "independent" person.

Perhaps he could have bought her "Worthless" as an engagement gift? Would have saved a lot of troubles and the romance.

12 comments:

JC said...

She racked up $170,000 in only 3 years as well.

I don't even know how people do that. What made her think she could afford to study overseas?

“It’s because I’m doing something that I’ll love for the rest of my life.” - Yeah, you better do it for the rest of your life.

Anonymous said...

She is hot though. I bet they had some great sex

Anonymous said...

“I didn’t acquire it because I go out and shop a lot,” she said. “It’s because I’m doing something that I’ll love for the rest of my life.”

I'd bet the first would also fit within the second category.

Anonymous said...

All I know is if my name were Eastman, it wouldn't take $170K to learn how to use a camera.

Chris said...

He's from Europe where you don't go to 50K a year universities. You go to a local one, for a nominal or no fee.

He dodged a double bullet: she's in debt and an entitled American Princess.

Anonymous said...

Comments on the article were amazing. Best one was from a woman saying saying she would never date anyone that "turned their nose up" at the debt she's accumulated earning her PHD in English. Now she's a faculty member in her 40's "hoping for love and marriage".

Let's see:
Large amount of debt
Well past her physical prime.
Academic know-it-all
Still has standards.

Yeah... good luck with that one.

Paul said...

That Austrian guy marrying the doctor could be setting himself up for a world of hurt as well, supporting her a lot when she's in the red, then if when things get better she gets unhaaaapy and dumps him, the help he gave her gone, if they had a house he would obviously have had to pay for it and that would be gone, kiddies and chillimony for him, all that plus your share of the family business.

Obviously not an Austrian economist.

Just1X said...

I love the fact that one of da women will 'pay her own debt down'.

this is lovely, whatta girl

but what happens when the next bill comes in? Oh, I can't afford to pay half honey...

So he ends up paying for the majority of the holiday / car / rent / bills, but that's okay because her debt is being paid down by HER. She is such a strong, independant woman.

And yes, the reverse is possible, but how often does it actually happen? that's what I thought.

Buy the book people!

Rumbear said...

Shoulda gone to law school. She would only be $150K in debt.

Mrs. N said...

Clearly the issue was trust more than just finances/debt. The bride to be may have been only "lying to herself" and not intentionally lying to to him about her amount of debt.

Clearly they discussed finances at some point, and she indicated she had "over one hundred thousand" dollars of debt. She should have taken the time and put in the effort to give her fiance an accurate answer. She should have told him, I am so scared of my debt that I don't even know. The way a person deals with their problems says a lot about their character.

It is deceptive to present yourself as in control of your problems when you are actually being an ostrich. When getting married, your husband should know exactly how you deal with problems. After all your problems will be his and vice versa.

The entire point of a long courtship process is to ensure that both people are able to address life's known and unknown issues together. They must have discussions about family, religion, and finances and essentially agree. If during the courtship, you show you have a tendency to be less than completely honest (what ever your reason) the other party has every right to get out.

It kind of reminds me of all the woman who marry a man after dating him for years and then they decide he is "abusive". I call shenanigans because he either was "abusive" the entire time you dated (and you did agree to marry him) and you had no problem with it or you just made it up.

Same goes for this groom to be. He knew that he was not able to accept the decision making process and ostrich behaviors of a woman that he may have loved dearly - but love alone is not the basis for a solid marriage. Better to get out now before there are children.

Anonymous said...

Photography has been a hobby of mine for the past decade. I never wanted to turn it into a full time business, but I've watched others do so and I've taken jobs on the side. I'm very familiar with the technical, artistic, and business aspects of the field.

I cannot begin to express how incredibly stupid a person would have to be to rack up $170k in debt studying photography at a college for 3 years. For a fraction of the cost you could...

* Purchase the equipment needed for a wedding and portrait business.

* Learn everything technical that you need to know online and in library books.

* Spend a full year doing nothing but shooting. Shoot every day. Take on jobs as an assistant and do small jobs as well. Do it for free if necessary just to get the experience. If you're consistent by the end of the year your work should be technically and artistically competent.

* Throw in a summer of traveling to build a portfolio of other work (i.e. landscape, street, etc). Just for the heck of it!

* Open your business with a full portfolio, experience, and plenty of advertising to get started.

You would still have more than half the $170k left over assuming you had $0 income your learning year. If you worked part time then you would have even more left over.

The problem with photography is not that it requires a highly technical, $170k degree to do it. It's that it's so easy to do and so enjoyable that everyone is doing it. It is NOT something you go to college for.

Pulp Herb said...

@Anonymous:

Yes, the self-directed apprenticeship you just described would work. In fact, it works all the time for professional musicians. Outside of a few formal paths you don't need college to be a musician (and even in the classical world, conservatory study isn't necessarily a college degree type system).

However, the key problem in this day and age is the "self-directed" part. Too many people thinking paying money to be lectured is as good as or even better than doing things. The people hiring and the people looking to be hired have both fallen in that trap.

As a computer programmer I'd rather hire a kid with a couple of + certs, two years on the Geek squad, and a web page with three or four programs he's written for his own use for entry level jobs than a college graduate. We can help him get the needed formal education as part of his apprenticeship.