[AOIIBrandi]

I have a one degree that I don't really do anything with and around $30,000 in loans to show for it. I looked into teaching as well. The good news is there is a teacher shortage, so it is hard to imagine that you won't get a teaching job. Also, most states have ways for you to begin teaching as long as you have a bachelor's in any subject and a fairly high GPA (2.5 or something), you then work on getting certified while on the job. If you teach in a critical shortage area, or an "underperforming school" (or whatever is P.C.) you should be eligible to have your loans either deferred or a portion of them canceled according to your lender and/or state.

Munchkin03 also made a very good point. You do not have to have a Bachelor's in Education to enroll in an M.Ed. program. You may want to consider that route. In my opinion it is far better to have a Master's in something than 2 Bachelor's degrees. This will also enable you to teach on the college level if you so desire.

Anyway, to answer your real question... Student loans are not horrible. They are considered good debt, but debt still the same. Do I wish I didn't have to have them? Yes. But then I wouldn't have my education, so it's a Catch-22 if you will. Also, if you cannot afford to make the payment for sometime you can go into forebearance which allows you to completely stop making payments, reduce the amount you pay, or just pay the interest - as interest will still accrue for a certain amount of time. You can extend the period of time when it runs up as well. I shouldn't say this, but if you are going to buy a house or something it is nice to have your loan in forebearance at that time because the lender doesn't consider the debt as much as the minimum payment due reflects as 0. Also, be careful DO NOT default on your student loan this will haunt you for years.