Hello,

I am an 18 year old US high-school graduate going into college in about a year. The thing is, I need to save as much money as possible in one year for tuition. My parents are VERY low income and I won't be able to get much help from them. Also, I am reluctant to take out student loans if I can help it.

My goal is to save $40,000 total, which will cover the bulk of my tuition for four years, not including other expenses, such as cost of living, books and incidentals. I am hoping to get some help from scholarships and my family for the non-tuition expenses.

I have the good fortune of having been offered a summer internship which will provide me with valuable work experience, and about $5,000 this summer. Also, I have about $800 in the bank.

However, after this I will be own my own. I do not know if my goal of saving $40k is realistic, but after summer I have 12 months to get as close to this as possible.

Because I am starting a year late I don't want to have to work for the next few years if I can help it so I can really focus on school.

My main concern is finding a job. Looking at job listings for the area I'll be at(Seattle, WA) most of the above minimum wage jobs say they require either a four year degree or years of work experience, neither of which I have.

The internship will provide me with some work experience, but it will be so specialized I'm not sure it will help. (It's doing materials testing and r&d for a rubber chemistry lab for an oil rig supplying company.)

How does one go about getting a better than minimum wage job, with little work experience, or education, during a recession? I am bright and willing to work hard, but so is everyone else looking for jobs, it seems.

Also, I want to start investing but I'm not sure when to begin doing this. Paying for my education is first priority, but should I do anything else with my money after that and before investing it?

I would greatly appreciate any advice or tips.

Thank you!

PS- Apologies for my lack of concision. Writing is not my strong point.

Saving up $40000 over the next year is probably not possible. Let's assume that you really need $40,000-$5000 -$800=$34200. That is $2850 per month after taxes. You'll pay taxes of at least 17% so before taxes you'll need to earn about $3450 per month. With about 160 work hours in a month you'd need to make about $21.60 per hour. That is possible but very unlikely with no experience and no degree.

But, don't give up your dream. There is no reason you can't get a student job while in college to pay for about half of what you need. So basically you could save up $20000 over the next year then work in school to pay about half your expenses. Since you are starting with $5800, getting to $20000 requires saving $14200 or about $1183 a month. That is doable on minimum wage if your parents are housing and feeding you.

One word of caution though. You should be able to get need-based financial aid because your parents are low income. But, unfortunately, if you save up a lot of money that could disqualify you for it. You might want to talk with a financial aid counselor about your plan. It just might be better for you to start school right away in the fall. You could potentially get grants and scholarships worth more than what you'd be able to save.

I was going to say the same thing as DH. Unfortunately the financial aid system seems to penalize earning and saving money by the student.

Woah woah woah! First and foremost, you're a smart kid for starting to think about this.

Second, BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL. Stannius is absolutely right. Your future college will take every cent you've saved... one of the stupid rules they have. If you have money in your own name, they'll claim it. If it's in your PARENT'S name, however, it factors into the equation of college costs as a much smaller proportion of potential money for the college. The choice here is simple - have your parents open up a 529 account and place your college savings there. Make sure the account is in your mother, father, or grandparents' name... this way, you can pay college expenses from it without worrying that the college is ripping you off.

Third, and this is very important... there is virtually no way to do this without borrowing something. Get some federal loans, you almost certainly will qualify. The headache of applying is absolutely worth having low-interest, subsidized loans that are backed by uncle sam... I was lucky to have all federal loans. STAY AWAY FROM PRIVATE LENDERS.

I suggest you educate yourself further about this before you start the financial aid application process - check out http://www.finaid.org/. Do not assume anything about financial aid... it does not follow the rules of common sense. You have to game the system, but if you do it right, you can get a pretty good deal out of it, particularly if your family meets low-income requirements (which I believe you say they do). Do not give up. The effort will be worth it.

One last note: Do NOT worry about investing money at this time. You are at the time in your life when you need to invest in yourself. Start investing when you actually have substantial income, e.g. after you graduate from college and have a job.

Try looking for a program that offers co-operative education. You take an extra year to finish, but you earn as you learn and you'll graduate with experience, making it easier to get a job. That's how I got through school without debt.

Congrats on having such a sensible outlook to university! You said you planned to apply for scholarships. I strongly encourage you to focus on this as a way of pushing your income for the year above that minimum wage rate.

In New Zealand, where I live, the cost of university is much lower I think. (About $5000 a year for a BA - more obviously if you're doing something like medicine) plus living expenses on top of that. I paid for my entire four years of University with scholarships - not prestigious ones either, just a few hundred or thousand here and there. There are HUNDREDS of scholarships out there, and so few students apply because many believe they're just not the scholarship winning "type".

Another option for you is to consider going overseas to study. There are some universities that offer free or very cheap programs, even for international students. And the experience will be priceless.

I agree with the points above, but have one additional suggestion: check your public library for Debt-Free U by Zac Bissonnette.

Remember the real goal here -- it's not to save $40k in a year in Seattle with only a high school diploma. (I live in Seattle and have a 19yo stepdaughter in similar shoes; I can say with certainty that you're swimming against the undertow there. Not gonna happen.)

Your real goal is to get a quality college education without parental assistance and without taking on student loan debt, and Debt-Free U is a road map for accomplishing exactly that.

Good luck!

The previous posters advice is good. Coming from a low-income family myself I'd like to sum up for you a possible course of action.

I. But first a few questions:

A. Are you going to live with family or get your own place during this next year?

B. Is there a possibility that the company that hires you over the summer could take you on another year?

C. What are your interests? What do you see yourself doing in the future?

D. Have you taken the SAT? It is probably best to take it right after high school. However, keep in mind that if you score low you could always take an online/class room course to improve your score.

E. Have you considered doing a work-study program while in college? Most universities have one in multiple departments. You basically are paid to assist a professor or work in some minor role in a given department of the university. Usually you get to study at least half of the time while getting paid! (I worked for the philosophy department and then the business computer lab for my undergrad. This helped pay for basic necessities and food in college.)

F. Have you considered putting the money in a trusted family's name as flinch13 suggested? (As long as there are no legal issues with this I think this is a wonderful idea. Work the system. Don't let the system work you.)

G. Have you considered buying the items you will need for school (laptop, clothes, linens, etc) a little at a time before you enter college?

II. Okay, now to the game plan after the year of savings:

First, apply for student grants (free money) due to your family's low income. If you are a minority there are also grants for those as well. Academic scholarships are also available.

Second, take your basic courses (history, math, science, English, etc.) at a local community college (CC).

Third, after you've completed the 2 years at the CC transfer to a 4 year university. Have you begun looking at which ones you might be interested in attending? Keep in mind your tuition will likely be cheaper in the state you reside in. Also keep in mind that college is a great place for networking as well. Your degree will be valuable. Your contacts and the name of the school (UT for example) may be contributing factors as well.

Fourth, formulate a budget and stick to it. Cut out all unnecessary items (Cable/Satellite bill, etc.) from your budget and consider living with family for a year. (Preferably with someone who will let you live there for free or really cheap)

Fifth, consider getting 2 (or 3?) jobs to meet your goal of $40,000. You need about $22.00 per hour. So work 2 (or 3) jobs 30 or more hours a week at $11.00ish an hour. You can always try to find a day job and a weekend job. It won't be easy but since you are doing this only for a set amount of time (and you're young) you can do it!

Conclusion:

Trust me no matter what anyone else tells you it is possible. People always rise or fall to meet people's expectations. 1) Work hard. 2) Don't take no for an answer from potential employers. 3) Be persistent. Someone will give you a break. 4) Read and get inspired by people who have gone before you. 5) Follow your dreams. I make today yearly more than double what my parents make combined. I worked my way through college and also with my MBA. I am debt free. At 30 years of age today my net value is what my parent’s combined net value is.

I leave you with the following quotes. Hope this has helped.

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather in a lack of will."
~ Vincent J. Lombardi, Green Bay Packers coach with a record of 105–35–6 (.740 winning percent) with 3 NFL championships at Green Bay

"Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor."
~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Author of over 25 books including 2 New York time Bestsellers - Life's Little Instruction Book & Life's Little Instruction Book Vol. 2

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
~ Thomas A. Edison, Inventor of the phonograph, motion picture camera, and the light bulb. He held over 1050 patents in the U.S.

Good luck. Now get after it!

Might I suggest that going to school may not be the correct thing to do. You need to know what you are going to study, what the honest prospects are for graduates getting jobs and what a graduate will really fetch upon graduation. So, if you are going to major in art history, perhaps there are better things you can do with the next four years.

First, you need to know the general direction of what you are studying. You cannot play the game of doing Chemical engineering, then changing to computer science when you find out ChemEng it too hard, and then to business when you figure out that CS is too difficult as well (besides, you'd rather be a boss anyway) and then leisure studies once alcoholism is discovered. While you seem to be a very intelligent young adult, please do not follow this path. You will end up with a "degree" and automatically every job will be beneath you.

Second, truly understand what the job prospects are for what you want to study. I know you'll have at least 4 years, but understand what the demand will be once you get out.

Third, look long and hard at the statistics of salaries for your future profession. For example, law schools are notorious for mis-representing starting salaries. They'll say our avg starting salary is $80k/yr, but NO ONE will actually make $80k/yr. There will be a few making 6 figs, and the rest of the schmucks make $30-$40k/yr. OR, their salary numbers will be inflated because all of the people with 6 fig jobs report their income and everyone else is too ashamed.

Lastly, get off your butt and get to the school's financial aid office. Stop trying to figure everything out on the internet. I've worked in college financial aid offices, and you want your counselor to know who you are. Figure out what the deadlines are for the FAFSA (pssst, it's in Feb), what scholarships are available, what you can do to prepare financially etc. Ask serious questions, be concise, polite and then get out of there. Before you leave, explain you would like to visit once every month or two just to make sure you aren't missing anything. You want them to know who you are and like you. Don't be a pest, but be visible.

Here is why you want them to know and like you.



And listen to this podcast, it is free.

This may be true. Perhaps an aprenticeship or tech school might be the thing for our friend supernerd. See link and information below.

Full Article from CNN

Jobs that pay well, no degree required

"Conventional wisdom states that college-educated workers earn higher salaries because their jobs require more education and advanced skills.

In addition, fewer workers have college degrees, so they are harder to find in relation to workers without degrees. Indeed, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, 19% of Americans hold a bachelor's degree, while approximately 31% have a high school diploma.

Census data also shows that the mean income for a college graduate is $58,613, a significant difference from the $31,283 mean income for a high school graduate.

You might reason, then, that to bring home a sizeable paycheck, you need to go to college. Although that's often true, there are exceptions. Many jobs pay workers well because their daily tasks are dangerous, difficult or extremely specialized.

Experience also factors into the equation, because many employers value years of experience more than years of education. These jobs that don't require a degree aren't necessarily easy to perform nor they easy to land.

That's not to say you shouldn't earn a college or graduate degree if you want. However, if college isn't the right option for you or if it's not a plausible option in the short term, consider these 15 professions that don't require a college degree but pay well:

1. Aides supervisor $63,231*

Aides supervisors supervise home-health aides, which involves setting their work schedules and monitoring their performance to ensure quality care for patients.

2. Air traffic controller $139,314

In order to ensure the safety of all flights, air traffic controllers monitor planes coming to and leaving from an airport so there are no collisions. They also monitor conditions to keep flights free of delays.

3. Assembly supervisor $66,034

In assembling and manufacturing plants, these supervisors oversee the flow of production work. Depending on the industry, assembly workers can produce anything from large mechanical and aviation components to small technology devices.

4. Cable supervisor $76,739

Cable supervisors monitor workers who install, maintain and repair cables. Because these cables can be buried or overhead on telephone poles, the process can be dangerous for workers and difficult to perform.

5. Chemical supervisor $73,955

Chemical supervisors oversee workers who make chemical products, a careful process that involves handling dangerous substances and following strict safety guidelines.

6. Construction equipment operator $53,543

Construction equipment operators are in charge of the large-scale tools and equipment used on construction sites. They are also responsible for inspecting the equipment for safety and performance issues when necessary.

7. Credit and collection supervisor $66,847

Credit and collection workers calculate credit risks and collections information for consumers who apply for loans. Their supervisors monitor their performance and sometimes review client credit history to grant or deny extensions of credit.

8. Data control supervisor $66,554

Data control supervisors oversee the daily operations of data entry workers and are responsible for the completion and accuracy of their work.

9. Electrical repairer $58,960

Electrical repairers disassemble and fix problematic electrical equipment and any related components. Depending on the particular job, the equipment can range from small mechanisms to large technological systems.

10. Elevator repair worker $67,538

Elevator repair workers perform routine maintenance on elevators and escalators and also respond to any reported problems.

11. Home care aide supervisor $69,061

Home care aides visit homebound patients in order to assist with daily activities and some rehabilitation exercises. The supervisor ensures that all patients are being taken care of properly by their aides according to legal regulations and quality standards.

12. Illustrator $60,060

Illustrators work in advertisement agencies or as freelancers to design fonts and images for a variety of media, from websites to print campaigns and video.

13. Lead carpenter $73,055

Lead carpenters act as the head for carpentry workers on a specific task in order to keep the project on time and meet quality standards.

14. Payroll supervisor $72,951

Payroll supervisors oversee the process of calculating compensation based on workers' hours, reviewing timecards, distributing pay and adhering to government regulations for payroll.

15. Real estate broker $79,494

Real estate brokers maintain their own real estate businesses that help homebuyers look for houses or condominiums. They research neighborhoods, find available homes and assist buyers through the financial and legal aspects of the purchase process.

*Salary data based on figures from CBSalary.com."

Now as to the specifics:



How many college students actually know what degree they want to pursue before going to college? On average from the school I graduated from it took 4.5-5 years for students to graduate. I graduated in 4 because I clepped out of Spanish and took summer courses. However, that is really more the exception than the rule. I took basic psychology, basic programming, and introduction to composition my first semester of my freshman year. As a Junior/Senior I thought this was a waste. However, I realized later knowing what you DON’T want to do is just as important as what you do want to do. College facilitates exploration of different fields. The concept that every job will be beneath a college grad is just an attitude adjustment issue. The reality today is that getting an entry level job (or any job for that matter) is a good place to start. Being willing to work your way up the food chain is important.



CNBC Highest Paying Bachelor's Degrees - 2011

Highest paying degrees for undergrad are in Engineering and Computer Science. Business Administration is always a popular degree if you have no idea what you'd like to do post-college. While Marketing isn't always marketable (punt intended) perhaps a degree in Accounting, Finance, Tax, or Statistics would be useful in the real world. Jobs in the medical field such as Dentists, Orthodontists, Physical Therapists, etc. pay well too.



It is imporant to evaluate your degree in light of the potential salary earned. I agree with the last point as well. Get the information from people in the know. Persistence is key.

Lots of good advice here. Unfortunately the OP has not been back since the day he first posted so he likely has not gotten the message.