10:30 PM PDT on Friday, May 26, 2006

By PAT DOORIS for kgw.com

Joel Fischer is a 22-year old senior from Portland. He works as the Director of State Affairs for the student government at Oregon State University.

(kgw.com)

Joel Fischer wants a career in politics, but worries he needs a better-paying job because of his student loan debt.

“My direction has been politics,” says Fischer.  “But it is just not feasible with the amount of debt I have. I wanted to move to Washington D.C. to work for a congressional member. But it pays barely enough to live there, much less pay back loans.”

Fischer estimates his student debt - a mix of federal loans and bank loans from Wells Fargo - will be $28,000 when he graduates. He admits the debt worries him.

“Yeah, certainly,” says Fischer. “I also worry about what I’ll do in the future.”

Fischer says the money paid for tuition, housing and living expenses. He tried to hold down a job but found few in Corvallis. During his first year, Fischer drove twice a week back to the Spaghetti Factory in John’s Landing to make a bit of money but found it too hard to balance work and school. Now, the harsh reality of life outside the university system is closing his options for the future.

He thinks business or management might be good fields for him. He’s not as passionate about those areas but he hopes the salary would let him pay off the student loans.

“I’d love to work for the Oregon Student Association,” he says. “It’s a non-profit that organizes major universities. I’d love to work for them but they just don’t pay enough to pay back the loans.”

When asked about what he’ll do instead, Fischer just laughs: “Oh boy - I just don’t know.”

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