<prompt> Human: Hey guys, Im really just trying to figure out this my future thing. Im 20 years old and watching all my HS friends graduating with their bachelors and going off to find these 75k, 100k jobs and I cant help but wish that was me..Ive been at community college for 2 years trying to get a music tech degree that I was encouraged into by my parents who thought it would be good for me. Ive got another year of that and Im done, though I have no idea what kind of job it would allow. I really wanted to work in a studio as a kid haha.I work a full time job as a security officer, about 24k a year, living paycheck to paycheck trying to pay off a car I cant afford along with keeping up with the rent live with mom for 400m Fortunately I dont have any kids or child support, I just dont feel like Im moving forward.Ive been getting pretty into programming and I want to pursue a career in software development, though most of the jobs seem to require a BS in computer science. My question is, assuming I have 0 college money saved, and have to work just to stay afloat, what are my options for actually getting a bachelors? Im 15k in debt already which means I cant just take out a student loan and leave my job to focus on school..University in state is like 20k per year? How the hell am I supposed to afford that? How does ANYONE afford that..Please help, its killing me inside that I feel so stuck  <response>: Military is a great option. Not only will they pay for school, theyll pay you a decent wage and youll pick up some skills to boot. Another route would be to get a job with a university. Most decent sized universities have campus safety departments and many universities will give freegreatly reduced tuition to employees. I actually know someone who took this route.The good news is that I dont know of many state universities charging 20kyear for tuition alone. Those kind of numbers usually include roomboard. I would look at the universities in your area and calculate what it would cost you per year based on the cost per credit hour. You may find its much more reasonable than you think. Talk to the financial aid office and see if there are some grants available at your income level. Also look into scholarships, 500 here and 1000 there really goes a long way towards dropping your overall cost. The last thing you need to look at is your own personal financial situation. If youre not adequately using your resources at this point, then having more money will only magnify that situation. It may suck to face the music, but you really need to get your house in order before you think about laying out more cash, even if it for an education. If you would like to post a breakdown of your incomeexpensesdebt, Im sure we could give you some more tailored advice. 