<prompt> Human: I signed up for this because a friend told me this community would be honest. I am at a crossroads: I am halfway through my Masters degree for MFA 3D Modeling a Midpoint Review scheduled to be in a month, but modeling is not where my heart is. I now know this. I draw more than model, and so I feel visual development and storytelling is where I want to direct myself. But at this point I have put myself in a very VERY deep hole.My parents thought they made too much money for me to get federal aid for college, so I received my Bachelors of Science in Media Arts Animation from the Art Institute on mostly private loans. After I turned 24 I was able to receive federal aid. I tried making payments, but every time I did the principles went UP, not down, and thus I became depressed and stopped making payments. Instead, I went back to school hoping to earn my Masters degree, and prolong payments. I have an assortment of private loans 36,439.157.25, 26,032.8510.25, 29,214.42 8.25, 34,243.09 8.25, and 56,550.97 10.25 totaling to 182,480.48 and federal 7 amounting to 86,165.90. I am 278,167.35 in debt to student loans as of today, and have been so stressed in building my skill as an artist I have lost the motivation and fun in it. I DO want to be a great artist, and I love the processes and learning it, but I feel school may not be the way to go. I am also planning to move states with my boyfriend in 8 months, as I do NOT want to be stuck in the city I am in.I would feel a failure to drop out of school, especially halfway through when the next step is a thesis project on which I can choose, and if I decide to stay I am thinking of switching majors from 3D Modeling to Visual Development, where I believe Ill find the love of the process again. But continuing school is just prolonging a storm of payments, and I have become so stressed and depressed about the process of art I have lost a lot of my love for it. But if I drop out, the payments may be too much to carry right now, especially wanting to move states. Any help is appreciated. Thank you.Thank you for all your comments. I have looked into many of my options. I am moving to Seattle WA for better work opportunities. My boyfriend while not rich has been with me 9 years, so we are working this out together. My mother is in no way able to help me, and I no longer have a father. Statute of Limitations for both the state I am in now and WA is six years. Getting my masters would allow me to teach, in which case I could go the route of paying low monthly payments on my federal loans and getting them forgiven after a time. They do garnish wages on disposable income, but it can be up to 15. They can also levy my bank account, take any tax refunds, and any other assets they think will settle my debt. But I have no house or car worth taking, and most things can be put under my BF. Right now I am thinking my best option is to live as frugally as possible and pay off my federal loans, having my bfs name on all assets. The only thing left to answer is should I continue school? I do agree that Visual Development artists are not as demanded as 3d modelers, as there are plenty of other industries I could use those skills in. So if I do continue school, I agree I should suck it up and keep on my 3D track. But SHOULD I continue school? I know the debt would be insurmountable, but isnt it already? And if I were to drop out now, there is NO WAY I can make payments, especially trying to move to a new city where I have a better chance at finding a job in my field. I cant move for another 8 months because my boyfriend is finishing school, and if I drop out now that window to move closes. I am going to contact my lawyer to see if there are other options, or maybe go the Undue Hardship route, because there is no way I would be able to make 5,000 monthly payments for over 10 years unless I made a ton of money, which would take me a while to climb that ladder to do. I spent the last 4 years being an Imaging Artist and Assistant Product Development Manager for Cashman Enterprises, working on pre-visualization and graphic design. I know I can get work again, just have to find out how. I feel horrible I put myself in this position, but in a way I dont regret it. I can only move forward, so please, no more sad-sack comments or hurtful prods. I am asking for honest help. Thank you unrulyhyena and alliedeluxe, I will look into both of these routes. You have been most helpful  <response>: My .02. I understand youre upset, I also understand the debt is staggering. Okay, I am in NO way an authority on what I am going to tell you. I am just going to tell you form my experience what I would recommend you do with that degree: 1. DO NOT SWITCH FROM 3-D MODELING TO VISUAL DESIGN. PLEASE. Financially speaking, you are a more valuable asset with 3D Design skills than with strong visual design skills. The market is so satured with Graphic Designers that the jobs are far and few between. My Wife has a 4 year degree from Hartford Art School, graduated magna cum laude, has a solid portfolio, etc. and just this year got her first job for over 20hr. Her degree was 80K, but was heavily subsidized by the fed due to her lack of parents. Still 25K to repay is awful when she was making 10hr at Panera bread looking for job openings anywhere.2. Become very familiar with 3D modeling for business. You can make an incredible amount of money with a little bit of engineering knowledge and a knack of 3D. This is in no way an overstatement. Manufacturing houses and engineering houses NEED people who -understand- 3D modeling for 3D CAM. You can learn CAM easily once you know your way around a model. Trust me. It might be hard at first, but if you need money to help pay off your loans, manufacturing is the way to go. If your boyfriend can help in any way, buying a 3D printer would be a solid investment. On ETSY or any other Hand made shops, you can sell things like Christmas ornaments, custom figurines, etc. 3. Do not give up on graphic design. If you can hone your skill, you can always freelance. Even silly things like menu layout for restaurants can be easy 100 jobs to help bolster your finances. If you have time after you finish college, start learning how to code. Strong graphic design knowledge and coding go hand-in-hand these days. You must be multi-faceted if you want to do that for a living.Please, ask me questions and i will try to help.DONT GIVE UP! 