The way that my debts have built up since college, it seems like I have been paying for the fun that I had. I remember how carefree life was. I had a student loan to cover most of my expenses, and a little bit of help from my parents on the side. Life was good until I was through with school. Like many members of my generation, I was unlucky. I graduated just as the dotcom bubble burst. I was highly skilled and constantly underemployed. My student debt grew and grew.I signed up for a student loan debt consolidation, but it did knew very little good. Student loan consolidation rates were too high for me to afford with my current income. There was just nothing that I could do. Finally, something came through for me. I had a friend in the high-tech industry who hooked me up with a job. It was luck, and nothing else. I had the right connections. Suddenly, I could pay for my student loan debt consolidation.I can’t tell you what a relief that was. I came out of college idealistic and eager to tackle the world, but the world was not ready for me. As soon as I entered the workforce, I was completely broke. My education did nothing for me except to make it hard for me to get low end jobs. The high end jobs were not hiring. My student loan debt consolidation had spiraled out of control. I had no money. It’s tough to be hopeless at the age of 25. Getting the new job, along with the student loan debt consolidation, saved my optimism. It’s strange to think how often it just simply comes down to money. Now that I have enough of it, I am fairly happy.If you are facing high student loan payments, I don’t have to tell you that things can be pretty bleak. A lot of the time, the student loan debt consolidation just doesn’t go far enough. If you went to community college or a state school, things might be fine. If, however, you used your student loans to go to an expensive private school, you might be out of luck. Even with student loan debt consolidation, sometimes the payments are too high. If you cannot get a good job, you might be faced with thousands of dollars of debt perpetually hanging over your head. It can get pretty grim.