Costs for professional degrees are rising, too. Five years ago, only 14 people in the US owed $1 million or more each on their federal student loans, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing the Education Department. As of 2018, that count had increased to 101 people.
Interest rates for graduate students have increased by more than 6% from 2004 to 2012, according to The Journal.
Consider Mike Meru, a 37-year-old orthodontist who owed $1,060,945 in student loans as of May 2018. He's expected to face a $2 million loan balance in the next two decades.
Meru's situation shows that despite high salaries, becoming a doctor, dentist, or even a lawyer isn't the path to wealth it once was.