SoFi Blog

While relocating for a stellar career opportunity can give you great footing—and a sweeter paycheck—there’s much to consider before packing. You’ll want to feel confident that you’re uprooting to not only grow your career, but also to thrive personally.

As you factor in all that could make your nights and weekends more enjoyable, be it the number craft breweries or rock climbing walls in your potential new ‘hood, you’ll also want to look at the life/work metrics and: cost of living; safe, affordable neighborhoods; and job growth rates. After all, you’ll want to live comfortably and continue to save and invest in your future.

More Americans than ever are taking out student loans to invest in their futures. And that’s leading to…a huge amount of debt across the nation. $1.3 trillion in fact. This year alone, college grads who have their bachelor’s degrees face an average of $37,000 in student debt. And, as of July, over seven million borrowers are in default.

So how to solve it all? Let’s start at the beginning. Scroll through the visual timeline below to see the highlights and lowlights of the past 80 years in student loan history.

Rest assured, there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel (er…timeline).

SoFi supports entrepreneurship and startups through our Entrepreneur Program, which provides members with networking, mentorship, and an opportunity to defer their student loans. Our #SoFiStartups series profiles members who participate in the program, highlights the ups and downs of their entrepreneurship journey, and offers advice for other aspiring entrepreneurs.

With a background in architecture and engineering, SoFi member Ben Silverman spent the early part of his career designing building facades that were highly energy efficient. But his interest in sustainability soon extended past structures and into another one of his passions—food.

Two Sides is a new series of articles in which we ask SoFi members and employees to weigh in with their experiences, perspectives, and insights on topics important to our diverse community.

When house hunting, you might have trouble deciding whether you want to buy new home or invest in a fixer-upper. While a new or newer home typically requires little or no work, you’ll likely pay market price, which means ponying up more dough up front. With a fixer-upper, there’s a good chance you’ll get a deal that allows you to put less money down, but you’ll need funds on hand for immediate renovations. You’ll also need to plan ahead financially for any fixes you want to make at a gradual pace.