Only teachers and nurses used to qualify for loan forgiveness. Now anyone can if they are working full time in a public-service job, including local, state, and federal government, as well as military service, law enforcement, public health, public education, libraries, and most nonprofits.
Graduates who work in a public-service field and make regular payments on federal loans can be forgiven the remaining amount on their loans after 10 years. Payments can be as low as zero for people who make less than 150 percent of poverty level, says Ms. Irons of the Project on Student Debt. "It's a huge advantage that most people don't know about."
