As someone who is looking at careers before I enter college in about a year and a half, I've been wondering about what sort of salary a single person can live on reasonably. Now, I could go into almost anything I wanted to and make tons of money (I'm lined up to be valodictorian of a large school) I want to do something that interests me. And I don't really want to go to school for a lot of years. I'd prefer a bachelor's degree, and would be willing to get a master's if it was necessary for the field I wanted to go into.
I love animals and lately have been looking at being a veterinary technologist (which is a bachelor's, not an associate degree). However, the mean salary is only about $30,000. Is this a reasonable salary for a single person - would I be able to save up for cars, maybe eventually a small house, etc, as well as cover essential costs of living? If not, are there other options I should look at for getting into veterinary medicine without going to school for many years to become a doctor? Any suggestions and thoughts are appreciated!
2013-03-26T07:22:25Z
Oh, yeah, I think that cost of living where I live is pretty low - I live in the Midwest, not Manhattan or anything.
2013-03-26T07:22:35Z
Oh, yeah, I think that cost of living where I live is pretty low - I live in the Midwest, not Manhattan or anything.
Penny2013-03-26T07:38:28Z
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it really comes down to how many bills you have, and what youre spending habits are like...if you made 30k a year, about 25% is taken away for taxes, so youre at 22,500 take home. thats 1875 a month. are you going to be renting an apartment? living at home? do you have a car loan to pay for? how many loans for school are you going to be paying back? how much credit card debt are you going to rack up in college? do you like to do a lot of recreational things like going out to eat, going to movies, do you shop a lot? utilities, cell phone, FOOD. you never realize the money spent on food till youre on a budget... now with 30k a year, i would suggest living at home for a while to save up AS much as you can for a house...just to give you an example, my husband and i just bought our first house for 125k with the min amount down..with the interest mortgage insurance, house insurance, and principle..our mortgage is $920 a month..our two cars are $525 a month..our student loans are $680 a month...all in all..we have close to $3000 a month in just BILLS. and were only 23. so speaking from experience, stay at home as long as you can and save money! dont max out credit cards..use them for gas or groceries and pay them off within the 30 days..this will help build your credit...dont go to a fancy name school, try going to a state school or even a community college...trust me, the loans to pay back arent worth it..(unless of course youre getting a free ride for your grades) .if you do want to rent, try to find an apt with cheap rent that pays for some utilities like water, trash, maybe cable/internet if youre lucky. it would be tight to live on $30k a year, but if you budget right, and dont get into too much debt in college, you should be fine! good luck with everything, and congrats on doing so well in highschool!
no. that is the salary of a person who has not gone to school. if you love animals take animal science as a bachelors, then go to vet school. on $30 000 a year you will not qualify for a house mortgage. you will barely qualify for a car loan. you will not be able to take vacations.
my life style:
rent: 600 (if you own your own house expect to pay more due to bills. add an extra $400) car payment: 300 car insurance: 110 cell phone: 85 gas: 100 visa payment: 150 food: 400 fun: what fun? you can't afford it on 30 000 a year
total = 1745 - 2145 per month.
2145 x 26 pay checks a year = $55 770 just to live.
sorry to break it to you but you should consider a different career path
In some areas of the country that would be okay. It'd be tight but you could survive. In others, you wouldn't make it. Strive for something better. Why not be a vet? You don't want to live paycheck to paycheck and never be able to afford luxuries.