As a young man I saw university to be a career changer. I imagined it would create something I loved, while being financially secure. When I became mentally ill, study shone a different light.
My fall from a building in 2014 created many unexpected financial challenges. I didn’t understand the tiny or unusual questions about my cognitive abilities I would find at work. Not only did finding work become difficult, but so did keeping a job. This was with or without disclosing I had suffered a brain injury. Many of the obstacles the illness presented healed with time and respect from outsiders. Adaptation was sometimes necessary in the workplace. It was rarely offered to me.
Study became a beacon of hope.
I chose to start a postgraduate degree through a master’s in urban and regional planning. My classes were mostly online, supporting my search for work outside of the studies. I later chose to study another degree. This was in business, a graduate certificate in change management. I did this as I dreamed of completing my master’s through overseas study, taking a long time to imagine with a new job then fail job fail fail happening while my original plans weren’t possible. Firstly I planned to study in Sâo Paulo, Brazil and then finally completed the thesis in Barcelona, Spain.
My dreams came true with effort and time. I thank the study loan system in Australia for this possibility. I saw study as the only way to fulfill my aspirational dreams. It was able to help overcome my lack of employment opportunities or respect in the workplace.
What makes Australian student debt attractive is that the government administered debt only increases in line with the consumer price index (CPI). That’s a rate decided by an overall inflation rate. This rate has typically been between 1-3% since my debt began in 2008.
That was not the case in June 2023. That rate jumped to 7.1%.
I admit I hadn’t realised the increase occurs on June 1 every year. This is when they apply the CPI / inflation rate. I had planned to pay some money over the next month, before the end of Australia’s financial year. I am currently employed full time, as brain injury healing and the study itself are low completed.
I was too late and the 7.1% was applied to my debt. While it was a surprise, I acknowledged that without this university debt, I would likely still be struggling without work. In saying this, who knows what may have been.
It goes to show the value in planning your finances and placing debt where the best gains to your livelihood can be made. Study for me paid off.
A large inflation rate one year, but next year I am employed full time and will pay a bit of that sum back. Many people in the world with brain injury do not have such experiences after all the challenges brain injury brings.
Pablito...travelling mentally with you! 