Although Sarah Miller has student debts to pay after she graduates, the SESP senior won’t change her post-graduate plans to help pay off the debt. She will, however, live at home to save money.

Like many other Northwestern seniors, student debt has not deterred her from pursuing job opportunities that might pay less than others. She said she hopes to teach in a public school next year.

NU students incurred an average of $17,241 in debt in the 2004-05 school year. But most NU students said the fear of student debt had not weighed heavily on their future plans.

An April 2006 study by the Public Interest Research Group said tens of thousands of the nation’s college graduates are taking jobs in the higher-paying private sector, rather than a lower-paying job as a teacher. The organization said 23 percent of public college and 38 percent of private college graduates in the nation had “unmanageable debt,” or student-loan payments that “hinder their ability to pay for basic necessities.”

SESP senior Kelly Augustine said she will stay in the Chicago area to teach at a middle school despite the lower salaries in the education field.

“I don’t look at teaching as being an occupation that’s going to make money,” she said. “I love teaching, and I love kids. I don’t care how much money I make – whether I make $25,000 or $100,000 doesn’t make a difference to me.”

Wesley Thorne, assistant director of University Career Services, said he has not seen many students who change their career plans because of student debt.

“In most cases, students are looking to verify that they can make a decent living at their chosen occupation,” he said. “Students come in with questions and concerns, but I don’t hear that they won’t pick a certain occupation.”

Thorne said he did not see a pattern with students shying away from public sector jobs rather than private sector jobs.

“In most cases, students seem to be well-informed about the general earning potential of their chosen industry,” he said. “Regardless of industry, students still have debt.”

Weinberg senior Sara Rubin will participate in Teach for America, a nationwide program that sends recent college graduates to urban and rural schools to ensure educational equality. She said she chose to participate in the program because she was dedicated to its ideals.

Rubin will have to attend college while she is a part of Teach for America, she said.

“While I’m teaching, I will be required to get a masters at UNLV (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), so I’m going to have even more debt,” she said. “It’s my debt, but I know my parents will support me if I need it.”

Although some students said they had not changed their career goals, they said they had to change other plans.

SESP senior Anna Torricelli said she might change jobs after working in a grassroots organization. She said she plans to work with a health outreach program.

“I’m not going into a field that will pay much,” she said. “I’m sure the debt will catch up with me. Down the road, I plan on going into a health foundation, which will probably pay a little more.”

Reach Ketul Patel at [email protected].