Going to college was worth it for Gen X, it paid off student debt

For the next five years, Houde worked a variety of “crappy jobs,” including as a door-to-door salesman, a gas station attendant, a fast-food worker, a groundskeeper, and a delivery driver. His favorite job, he said, was making glasses in an optical lab, but he saw no opportunity for advancement or a pay raise.

Around 1999, when he was about 23, he decided to go back to school. In 2006, he obtained an associate degree in information systems and a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

The degree didn’t solve all of his problems right away: He had trouble finding a job and paying off his student loan debt—and even had to withdraw from his 401(k) from his previous job. But the journey was worth it in the end.

Houde makes nearly $150,000 a year as a software engineer, according to documents viewed by Business Insider. He said that income allowed him to pay off about $45,000 in student loan debt in about eight years, travel regularly with his wife and buy a new car for the first time in his life before his old one broke down.

“For me, going back to college was the best thing I ever did,” he said.

Houde is one of a number of Americans who have grappled with the same life-changing choice at a crossroads: Should I go to college? In recent years, the cost of a four-year college degree and the job opportunities for workers without a degree have led many to conclude that college isn’t worth it. A Pew Research survey of more than 5,000 U.S. adults conducted late last year found that 76% of Americans believe a college degree isn’t worth the cost if a student has to take on debt—a sentiment that’s also reflected in declining enrollment numbers over the past decade. What’s more, paying for college doesn’t guarantee a job—graduates can be subject to the vagaries of the job market.

But for many, going to college can be a great financial decision. The typical graduate has a much higher income and is less likely to be unemployed than those without a degree. Some fields of study tend to be more lucrative than others, and student loans can offset some of the benefits of higher income, but in the long run, earning a degree has paid off for many Americans, including Houde.

Houde shared how he went from dropping out of college to earning six figures — and why he feels lucky.

His college degree eventually helped him earn a high salary.

When he first enrolled in college, Houde had no idea what major to pursue. But after he dropped out, he said he realized he was good with computers.

He had taken a few basic computer courses in the past, but he said his epiphany came one night while helping a friend with a college programming course.

“I managed to fix her code,” he said. “That was about the moment I realized what I should be doing and that I needed to go back to college.”

Houde enrolled in a local community college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in information systems in 2002.

However, he was not yet convinced of the benefits of completing his studies because he had trouble finding a job.

By Houde’s estimate, the early 2000s were the “second worst time” to look for a software job in the past 25 years — a result he attributed to a post-Y2K slowdown in software industry hiring and the temporary effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the broader job market.

So he decided to go back to school, pursuing his bachelor’s degree part-time. At age 31, he graduated with a degree in computer science.

This time, Houde entered what he called the worst job market for software workers in the past quarter-century—the Great Recession was beginning to make its presence known.

Houde eventually found a job that paid him $32,500 a year, but he struggled financially, in part because he had to cope with student loan debt and mortgage payments. He said he was ultimately forced to cash out $16,000 from a 401(k) he had saved up at his previous job.

“I often felt like I was digging a bigger hole for myself financially,” he said.

But things steadily improved over time, and his income grew to the six-figure level it is today. About eight years after receiving his bachelor’s degree, he paid off his student loan debt.

In retrospect, Houde admitted that going to college and taking on debt was necessary to get to where he is now.

“Somehow I persevered and now I live a completely different life and have an incredible salary,” he said, adding: “I’m completely grateful that everything turned out the way it did. I know not everyone is so lucky.”

However, Houde is still unsure whether it is worth continuing his education. In 2016, about a decade after getting my bachelor’s degree, decided to pursue an MBA. But he said he wasn’t sure it was worth it, since it didn’t help him advance his career or increase his salary.

“I’m 50-50 on success going back to school,” he said. “My bachelor’s degree did wonders for my career. My MBA, not so much.”

Did you go back to college later in life? Did you find financial success without a college degree? Contact this reporter at [email protected].