<prompt> Human: Im 21 and I currently work full time making 42kyear. After this semester of college Ill have an associates degree in software development. Ive recently come to realize the degree is next to worthless so Im contemplating going back to get my bachelors degree in computer science. It would take me about 86 credits to finish which if I did 12 credit hours a semester it would take about 7 semesters. At about 5065 a semester, it would cost me about 35.5k to finish and I currently have 5700 in student loans so Id be at 41k in debt. I also live at home and could live there until I graduate. Is going back to school worth it? Do i pay as much as I can as I go? Do I pay some money and invest the rest if I can get low interest loans? Any advice is helpful. Thanks.  <response>: Theres a lot of things that can impact the decision, but a good rule of thumb is that the starting salary is greater or at least equal to your total student loan amount.25k in loans to make 50k is a good deal. 50k in loans to make 25k is not a good deal. 41k in loans to make 41k is not bad. Its only a rule of thumb, but seems to be good advice because you wont be drowning in debt. More loans than your salary and you run into trouble about affording loan payments. 