<prompt> Human: I have an associates degree and make ballpark 40kyr. I cant quit working to go back to school, however I can get my BS in the same field that my AS is in for about 30k online. My salary would get bumped from 40k to 60k. I currently have about 6kyr in discretionary income, so I could pay about 12k up front and only have to take out 18k in loans.Now it would seem to me that this venture would basically pay for itself in one year and I would get a 50 raise. Having a Bachelor degree would also allow me to go to graduate school in the future. Im pretty financially illiterate so please someone let me know if Im wrong or right here.  <response>: It sounds well worth it to me.Here is a general rule of thumb. Student loans are worth it if HALF the increase in income is sufficient to pay the loan within TEN years. So for you, half the income increase 10,000 will easily pay the 18,000 likely in about 2 years or less.I think the true rule of thumb is to take out as little student debt as humanly possible so do everything you can to stretch that discretionary income beyond 6,000 to take out less debt. One last comment: make sure the degree you are getting is from an accredited and reputable school. 