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Middle-aged Americans Racking Up Student Debt

January 02 2012 Tweet Email This

What used to be a concern for the recent college grad is now affecting the middle-aged American: student debt.

With the current job market, more middle-aged Americans have returned to school. A recent story by Reuters reported the alarming news of the rising debt for this demographic.

Upon reviewing more than 3 million credit reports by the credit score tracking site CreditKarma, educational borrowing has risen for all groups in the past three years, but it has grown the quickest for students ages 35-49, with a school debt rise of 47%.

For students ages 38-41, the average student loan debt was the largest at approximately $12,000, up from under $9,000 in 2009. Young people do still have the largest student debt with those ages 26-29 averaging $14,000.

CreditKarma’s CEO said that workers affected by the bad economy are investing in job training with the hopes of improving their employment opportunities.

It’s kind of an embarrassing trend as older people are piling up debt for a degree that has less potential return and time to earn back money than a 20-something doing it. Going back to school to gain new skills for the older student could be perceived as desperate.

But it could be a better option than sending out resumes at home with outdated skills. Adding new coursework can help their resumes.

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