I’ve been thinking about the absolutely terrifying trend of college debt. I explored a current scenario using my own scenario, from 1993. It’s important to note I started working at age 13. And I’m assuming an average 11 weeks of non-school periods in the summer, and 3 weeks of non-school periods in the winter. A total of 14 non-school weeks where I would be able to work more hours, under NH state law.

I grew up, and worked as a teenage, in Northern New Hampshire. The current minimum wage set by the state is $7.25/hr. Source: minimum-wage.org

After high school graduation, I attended RPI. I entered into the architectural program, which is 5 academic years opposed to the more traditional 4. The current undergraduate tuition is listed at $45,100. Source: rpi.edu

Tuition cost alone for 5 years: $225,500 (doesn’t include room and board, food, materials, books, fees, etc. Anything.)

Given the current minimum wage in NH, that’s approximately 31,100 hours of labor.

Under the NH Labor Laws, the following applies:

Age 13
14 weeks at a maximum of 48 hours per week – 672 hours
38 weeks at a maximum of 23 hours per week – 874 hours

Age 14
14 weeks at a maximum of 48 hours per week – 672 hours
38 weeks at a maximum of 23 hours per week – 874 hours

Age 15
14 weeks at a maximum of 48 hours per week – 672 hours
38 weeks at a maximum of 23 hours per week – 874 hours

Age 16
14 weeks at a maximum of 48 hours per week – 672 hours
38 weeks at a maximum of 30 hours per week – 1140 hours

Age 17
14 weeks at a maximum of 48 hours per week – 672 hours
38 weeks at a maximum of 30 hours per week – 1140 hours

Age 18 (not governed by state labor laws, but assume same work pattern)
14 weeks at a maximum of 48 hours per week – 672 hours
38 weeks at a maximum of 48 hours per week – 1824 hours

That’s a few hundred hours shy of 11,000 hours of work. Roughly only one-third of what I would need in order to just pay tuition. Yes, there is a lot of variables to consider, some parents can help out, some people can earn more than minimum wage, some people receive grants and scholarships. Thankfully, for myself, a few of these were applied. But I still have college debt. It’s lower than the vast majority of people I know, but I’ve also been out of college for over 15 years.

I can’t even comprehend if I had done this, how different I would be. What would my summers have looked like? Would I be robotic in our I approached things? How much would my family have spent on gas bringing me to and from work when I was 13-15? Right now, I can’t even fathom these numbers enough to really make an educated theory on this. Maybe others have thoughts on it?