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Raising 2 kids on $30K/yr requires loans.



Or a lifestyle change. Take your pick.


Literal poverty isn't a "lifestyle".


Poverty guideline for 2 kids is $26k

But who is getting 30k anyways? If that is the stipend of one grad student, you need to double it to get the household of two grad students, and then it is over the median household income. The median income is not poverty


> Poverty guideline for 2 kids is $26k

Typical grad stipends outside of top-5 schools are closer to $20K.

$30K is damn close to an upper bound. That's what the tippy-top schools pay the top 1% of students. The few schools that go higher -- AFAIK in CS only NYC+Boston+CA -- are in markets where a single bedroom in a shared house runs $1K+/mo. And in that sort of rental market the federal poverty guideline is rote bullshit.

$16K is perfectly normal for the vast majority of folks who aren't at top 5 programs in the most in-demand field.

> But who is getting 30k anyways? If that is the stipend of one grad student, you need to double it to get the household of two grad students

Yeah but then you subtract child care and someone might as well stay home because it's literally costing them money to work.


>Typical grad stipends outside of top-5 schools are closer to $20K.

I am doing a PhD in Germany and get 54k €

The wage is regulated, everyone who has worked full-time at the university for a few years will earn the same. Although most grad students will earn much less, because most only have a part time position, and finish their thesis sooner.

In the first year without a full-time position, I was getting 20k €

>Yeah but then you subtract child care and someone might as well stay home because it's literally costing them money to work.

In Germany, child care costs between nothing and 500€/month depending on the city (e.g. in Hamburg it is free for 30h/week)


Smart people don't take out loans to finance a lifestyle that's not compatible with their income.


...I think you lost the thread of the conversation, buddy.




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