<prompt> Human: I have seen a lot of good advice on this subreddit and I find myself in need of some good guidance. Im facing, I feel, a very big debt problem and it seems like theres no way out. Here is my student loan breakdown:Federal and PrivateLoan NumberNameRepayment TypePrincipalRateMonthly Payment:--:--:--:--:--:--1-01StaffordIBR2,588.052.3912.10 1-02StaffordIBR2,667.932.3912.52 1-03Tuition Answer - PrivateLevel37,847.489.25346.14 1-04StaffordIBR3,857.866.8019.911-05Signature Student Loan - PrivateLevel21,032.657.25196.35 1-06StaffordIBR6,062.256.8031.27 1-13Sallie Mae Smart Option Student Loan - PrivateRST11,926.049.2525.00 Dept. of EducationLoan NumberNameRepayment TypePrincipalRateMonthly Payment:--:--:--:--:--:--1-01StaffordIBR6,040.63628.43 1-02StaffordIBR2,650.836.8012.43 1-03Direct Loan - SubLevel9,131.756.8042.95 1-04Direct Loan- UnsubIBR14,092.656.8066.10 1-05Direct Loan - SubLevel8,732.896.8041.08 1-06Direct Loan- UnsubIBR9,281.656.8043.54 Other LoansNamePrincipalRateMonthly Payment:--:--:--:--Wells Fargo - Private22,666.057.00162.26 University Federal Perkins Loan5,430.005Not SureHuntington Auto Loan20,457.694.99359.50RTS - Return to School Fixed RepaymentIBR - Income Based RepaymentMy monthly payments on debt are around 1399.58. My commute to work costs me in gas, monthlty, 250. Car insurance is 93.00month. Budget 100week for food. So, total expenditures 2142.58. This leaves me with around 500 at the end of the month, but Im not including incidentals and what have you. So, as you can see, Im in a very bad situation. I graduated with a B.S in Mechanical Engineering in May 2009 and an MS in Mechanical Engineering May 2013. I am currently employed as a contracted Project Engineer for the last 10 months making 41,600year with no benefits. The company Im with has an opening for a permanent position in a different department for a Field Service engineer which will include some benefits and, I hope, a higher income. Ive seen salary figures for Field Service engineers at around 70,000. At any rate, how can I deal with my mountain of debt? Please advise! Edit: Thank you all for the advice. I agree, my current salary considering my degree is criminal. I wasnt even looking for a job when I got this offer. I was in school and someone my dad was working for mentioned the job. Without any real desire or effort, I got this job and didnt really think about trying to negotiate salary. I dont think they would have given me the job for any higher salary though. Out of the 12 project engineers, there were 4 contracted project engineers all getting the same hourly rate. They let 2 of them go who had been there for a year and a half just last month. I have been looking for other jobs but I think I need to search more aggressively.  <response>: First of all, youre making way too little money for your occupation. As a contract mech engineer with a Masters you should be pulling in at least 60-70k MINIMUM even at entry level. I started in 2002 as an entry level ME with just a BS making 50k in a terrible job market. That was 10 years ago! If I were you, Id concentrate all my efforts on finding a new job and reducing expenses wherever possible. . 