A recent article in the Washington Post has put the total student loan debt in the United States at a whopping 1.75 trillion dollars! While most counties around the world provide low cost and even free college education to their citizens, it seems that ideologies in America have changed and that college education is no longer seen as a ‘public good,’ but rather one for the privileged few who can afford the prohibitive cost.

Ronald D. White wrote a great story for the LA Times about the problem of college debt. He focuses on one individual, Andrew Post, age 13. When most boys were fretting about the perils of girls and middle school, Andrew Post was attending Cal State Los Angeles, working on degrees in computer science and applied mathematics. At 18, Post was entering USC Gould School of Law. At 22, Post became a member of the State Bar of California.

Along the way, the U.S. economy took to the slow track. Like many in his generation facing the worst job market in decades, Post opted to stay in school. The Altadena resident is now 24 and has landed a well-paying job as a programmer for a website operator. But he also faces $215,000 in student loans, with a minimum monthly payment of $2,756.

Many college graduates are not as lucky as Andrew to find well paying jobs in their fields of study and instead find themselves working at low paying jobs, strapped with crippling debt. The promises for a better life and income that college educations used to provide, now seem empty and grossly overpriced.

At Artist As Brand, we have sought to help artists who may be feeling lost after graduating. Many come out of pricey art schools with no knowledge of how to make it in the real world. This course is designed to help light the way and provide clear guidance on the path to creative success.