10 Jobs That Qualify For Public Service Loan Forgiveness

The starry-eyed idea of a successful career that provides a more than suitable salary often overshadows the reality of student loan debt. Getting a college degree with the help of student loans is an expensive undertaking that can take years to pay off in its entirety.

One way that many professionals snuff out their debt in this department is by qualifying for public service loan forgiveness.

1. Translator Jobs (Overview)

2. Animal Shelter Worker Jobs (Overview)

3. Elementary School Teacher Jobs (Overview)

4. Registered Nurse Jobs (Overview)

5. School Librarian Jobs (Overview)

6. Paramedic Jobs (Overview)

7. Attorney Jobs (Overview)

8. Police Officer Jobs (Overview)

9. Americorps Volunteer Jobs (Overview)

10. Fire Fighter Jobs (Overview)

10 Jobs That Qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

There is a bounty of jobs in the public service sector. You might be working in a position that qualifies you for public service loan forgiveness without even knowing it.
To find out if you could retire your monthly repayments early, read through the following ten public service jobs that qualify for loan forgiveness.

1. Translator
   Average Annual Salary: $42,000
   Estimated job growth: 19%
   Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree in a language-related field

   Speaking multiple languages looks great on a resume and can lead to an interesting career as a translator. The responsibilities of a translator include the interpretation of spoken or written materials from one language to another while maintaining the original meaning of the statements.

   Translators who work in public service sectors might be able to receive school debt forgiveness.

   Some of these working environments include:

   • Public court

   • Hospitals and public medical centers

   • Government organizations

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2. Animal shelter worker
   Average Annual Salary: $32,421
   Estimated job growth: 16%
   Education requirements: Varied, but usually, at least an associate’s degree

   For people with an affinity for cats and dogs in need, becoming an animal shelter caretaker could be the perfect career. Animal shelters require reliable caretakers to monitor animal wellbeing, clean the facilities diligently, and provide the necessary tending tasks, like feeding and walking.

   Individuals working in paid shelter roles need to be familiar with animal caretaking responsibilities and demonstrate an overall empathetic attitude.

   Since animal caretakers at a shelter are dedicating their careers to a well-needed service with a relatively low salary, their duties could make them eligible to have their federal loans forgiven if they meet the other requirements.

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3. Elementary school teacher
   Average Annual Salary: $49,000
   Estimated job growth: 3%
   Education requirements: Bachelor’s degree in early childhood education

   There are a lot of apparent benefits to pursuing a profession as an elementary school teacher. The primary reasons are the summer months off of work and spending your days with curious children instead of stuffy adults.

   One of the big potential benefits to becoming an elementary school teacher, in particular, is becoming eligible for receiving public service loan forgiveness.

   Shaping the young minds of tomorrow is no easy task by any stretch of the imagination, and it’s also absolutely necessary if society plans to remain sustainable over the next fifty years.

   While the job is crucial and requires a decent amount of schooling, the pay associated with the position often doesn’t reflect this. Public service loan forgiveness aims to compensate for this by relieving elementary school teachers of their loan responsibilities.

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4. Registered nurse
   Average Annual Salary: $63,000
   Estimated job growth: 12%
   Education requirements: Bachelor of Science in Nursing

   In times of health crisis, both patients and their families need care from empathetic nurses. In addition to administering medical preliminary evaluations and treatment, registered nurses are also expected to provide emotional support in their interactions with patients and their loved ones.

   It’s a position that requires a great deal of specialized medical knowledge and schooling to achieve the necessary qualifications.

   Becoming a registered nurse can be an expensive educational endeavor, but because it’s a career that supplies a public service, they could qualify for school loans to be forgiven.

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5. School librarian
   Average Annual Salary: $49,000
   Estimated job growth: 6%
   Education requirements: Master’s degree in library sciences

   While students turn to their teachers for guidance and structure, they also learn a lot from their librarians. The bulk of their job consists of teaching students and teachers alike about information systems and structures in the library world.

   This involves both book knowledge and organizational technology.

   It’s an essential role that often gets overlooked compared to other positions and requires many costly years of schooling. Librarians who work at public schools or libraries are considered public service employees and could be eligible to receive assistance for their higher education costs through loan forgiveness.

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6. Paramedic
   Average Annual Salary: $41,000
   Estimated job growth: 7%
   Education requirements: At least a high school diploma and CPR and EMT certification

   Another vital piece of the intricate public hospital system is paramedics. These are the individuals who care for patients on their way to a public hospital. They are usually called in for dire emergencies, so a lot of a paramedic’s duties revolve around maintaining the stability of people in a life-threatening.

   It’s an occupation that makes stress management obligatory since lives are, quite literally, in their hands. Paramedics at public medical facilities and hospitals have the potential to qualify for the extradition of their borrowed money to finance their education.

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7. Attorney
   Average Annual Salary: $108,000
   Estimated job growth: 6%
   Education requirements: Master’s in Law and Juris Doctorate (J.D.)

   There are many different specialties when it comes to the field of law, and a lot of them make you ineligible to receive public service loan forgiveness. However, if you’re employed as a public interest attorney, some of those massive law school loans could potentially be eliminated before being paid off.

   Public interest lawyers specifically work with clients from marginalized groups who need legal assistance. They’re employed by the government or non-profit organizations to extend their law services to these people.

   Due to the philanthropic nature of their work, public interest attorneys are usually making much less than a typical lawyer, regardless of paying for the same amount of school.

   These stipulations make the employment of most public interest attorneys valid to receive loan forgiveness.

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8. Police officer
   Average Annual Salary: $47,000
   Estimated job growth: 5%
   Education requirements: Training and an associate’s degree are preferred.

   Since people employed by federal, state, or city governments qualify to receive public service loan forgiveness, police officers are eligible. Police officers are responsible for the protection of citizens in their jurisdiction by monitoring for illegal activity and apprehending criminals.

   Due to the public service nature of the job, city and state police officers could be relieved of their loan repayments if they meet other requirements for the program.

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9. Americorps Volunteer or PeaceCorp volunteer worker
   Average Annual Salary: $19,811
   Estimated job growth: 13%
   Education requirements: It depends on the position. Many jobs within PeaceCorp and Americorp require at least

   Another career in the public service that warrants educational loan forgiveness is volunteering with Americorps or PeaceCorp. These are civilian-sustained governmental organizations that provide aid to developing nations in various ways.

   Working for one of these voluntary programs is an incredible commitment that goes beyond the average position’s level of public servitude.

   The intense working conditions and nature of the profession make Americorp and PeaceCorp personnel up for receiving public service loan forgiveness. They can also possibly receive tuition reimbursement.

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10. Fire fighter
    Average Annual Salary: $39,000
    Estimated job growth: 8%
    Education requirements: High school diploma and EMT certification

    Few occupations demonstrate such bravery in their daily duties that it constitutes near-automatic hero status, but running directly into a house bursting with flames to save lives does.

    These are the duties of a public department firefighter, and the position is just as impressive as you always imagined. Firefighters must be formally educated in safety procedures in preparation to face the dangers of their job.

    The role of a firefighter encompasses what it means to work in public service and doesn’t receive the highest average salary for it. To balance out this reality, public department firefighters can have their school loan forgiven if they meet every other eligibility requirement.

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What Is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

There are lots of professions out there that contribute enormously to the betterment of society but don’t necessarily come with the highest paycheck for that service. Even though these public service careers require adequate schooling that could easily leave someone in debt, the ultimate salary that they land probably won’t be nearly as high as the educational costs.

In these circumstances, certain public service positions may be eligible to receive public service loan forgiveness.

Public service loan forgiveness acknowledges the toll of taking out loans to pursue a career that helps people but pays very little. In an effort to assist with these conditions, the agreement offers public service professionals a chance to erase their school loan debt after approximately ten years working in the field.

The Requirements of Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Receiving assistance in canceling your higher education loans isn’t guaranteed just because you work in a public service job. There are a number of requirements that a candidate must satisfy before determining their qualification status for loan forgiveness. A few of these requirements include:

• You’ve already made 120 monthly loan payments

• You are employed by a U.S. federal, state, local or tribal government, or you work for a non-profit organization

• You work full-time

• You must have received a Federal Direct Loan

The requirements for receiving public service loan forgiveness can be quite specific. The best way to determine individual eligibility is to contact a federal loan servicing agent via 1-855-265-4038.

Author

Sky Ariella

Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.