My $80,000 in student debt changed the next 10 years of my life — and that was in 1988. Imagine what it's like now

verna (Credit: courtesy of Equal Justice Works)

In 1988, I graduated from law school $80,000 in debt and wanted nothing more than to work in civil rights. Instead, the math pulled me toward the private sector. It took years of payments and strategic spending before I could afford to do the work I actually wanted to do.

That choice — dream job or debt-free — is one I made nearly four decades ago. Today, it’s even harder, and the federal government is making it more difficult.